Of Elves and Ninja
by Overlyinspired
Summary: Tsunade sends Neji and Hinata on a mission to explore a new land, a map of which was found in an old book. The cousins are sent to MiddleEarth, and must join the Fellowship to save not only MiddleEarth, but their own home.
1. New Mission

A/N: Okay, I know I'm supposed to be working on Magical Mission, but I've had this saved on my computer for a few months, and I wanted to know what people thought. So…………here goes nothing!

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or Lord of the Rings.

Neji sighed, keeping steady eye contact with the Hokage. He had other things to be doing besides waiting for some ninja that was running late for a mission briefing. Like getting ready for and completing the mission. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a ninja that was running as quickly as they could without bothering to be quiet. Said ninja burst in the door, red-faced from embarrassment.

"I...I...I...I'm s...s...sorry, H...Hokage-s...sama." Hinata gasped. "I was t...t...training w...with my t...team."

"It's fine, Hinata. It isn't your fault," Tsunade said gently. The girl blushed, hiding behind a curtain of long dark hair. She stepped over to stand next to Neji, fiddling with her fingers.

"H...h...h...hello, N...N...Neji n...nii-san," She stammered. He nodded, glancing over at her before looking back to Tsunade.

"So, what's the mission?" Neji asked.

"Ah, well, this is a very...interesting...mission." The Hokage began, pushing a book across her desk. Neji and Hinata stepped forward to study it. The book was obviously very old, and there was a picture of some other continent or country or something on the page.

"What are we looking at?" Hinata asked, reaching out with one hand to trace the border of the map. She had found that if she traced it, it was easier to remember for later.

"You two are looking at an old map of another place, called Middle-Earth."

"Middle-Earth?" Neji asked incredulously. "Where is that?" Hinata looked as if she wanted to know this as well, but she didn't even look up from the map.

"See, that's what makes it kind of interesting. You need to use a special jutsu to get there. Some chunnin found this book in one of the Third's libraries when she was cleaning it, as she had been told. It was inside a large volume on medical jutsu. The mission is for you two to use this jutsu to go and explore this place, make allies if we can. The key is to have territory and knowledge established in case the Akatsuki or Orochimaru find out about this...Middle-Earth." Tsunade leaned on her desk to gauge their reactions.

"Hm...How long would we be gone?" Neji had begun to read the small description of the map.

"As long as it takes to have this world mapped out. We can't have the Akatsuki or Orochimaru with uncontested territory. We can not afford it. Do you two understand?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," They chorused.

"Good. You two will be leaving in three hours. Report back here by then."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," The cousins said again. No sense in arguing about it.

"Good. Now go pack. Scat, you two." She waved a hand at them in dismissal and pulled out a bottle of sake and a small cup.

Hinata and Neji walked together down the main road of the village, waving or nodding whenever they saw someone that they knew.

"Oy, Hinata-chan, Neji!" Someone called loudly as the pair walked by Ichiraku Ramen. It could only be one person. Hinata promptly turned bright red and scooted behind Neji.

"H...h...hello, N...N...Naruto-kun," She said quietly, once again letting her hair hide her face. Neji sighed. Everyone besides Naruto knew how Hinata felt about him, but neither of the two was going to say anything. Naruto was too oblivious and Hinata was far too shy.

"Hello, Naruto,"

"Hi, you two! What are you doing?" Naruto asked curiously, still slurping ramen.

"We have to go prepare for a mission," Neji said bluntly.

"OH! You're lucky. Baa-chan never has any when I go to ask her for one!"

"I'm sure that she'll have a mission for you eventually, Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered, looking at him from behind her hair. Naruto grinned at Hinata, bright eyes grinning too.

"Really? You think so, Hinata-chan?" She smiled at him from behind her hair and nodded.

"Naruto, we have to go and pack. Good-bye." Neji nodded.

"Hey, how long are you going to be gone?" Naruto asked.

"W...w...we don't know," Hinata blushed again," I'm s...s...sorry." She managed another quiet smile.

"Bye! Good luck!" Naruto waved at them and continued slurping his ramen at an amazing rate. Hinata smiled at the boy and followed her cousin down the street, wondering what on earth she was going to need for this mission. What was she supposed to bring to a world that no shinobi had ever been to before?

"N...N...Neji nii-san, what are we supposed to bring?" Hinata asked. Hopefully he would consider the question reasonable enough to answer fully.

"Every weapon that you can use. Every set of kunai and shurikan you have. Enough clothes to last for awhile. Your medical supplies. We only have two people on our team, and you're the only healer." He paused to look her in the eye. "Just bring enough to survive for as long as we might need to, Hinata-sama."

"Yes, Neji nii-san," She looked up at him, smiling happily. He looked right back at her. She had the same Hyuuga eyes as him, but hers were much softer and gentler than his, somehow.

"I'll meet you back at the Hokage's office in three hours." Neji said simply. They parted at the gate to the Hyuuga compound. She had to go to the Main House's area, and he had to go to the Branch House's place in the compound.

Hinata quietly walked down the hallway, eyes firmly focused on the ground. She had no wish to talk to anyone in her family at that moment besides her father, but she didn't even want to talk to him until she was packed to go on the mission. She carefully pushed the door to her room open and slipped inside, shutting it with a quiet 'click'. Her room was very simple, the walls painted stark white, along with the blankets on her bed. There were a few picture on her walls, but not very many. Mostly they were pictures of her team and her sister, but there was a picture of Neji and a picture of Naruto as well.

The girl pulled her large travel pack out of her closet and set it on her bed. Her sets of kunai and shuriken were added to the pouch already on her thigh, and a few extra pouches were tucked into a pocket on the side. No sense in losing all of her weapons just because the pouch ripped. She carefully folded one formal yukata into the bag because Tsunade had said to make alliances if they could, and it was useful to look like a diplomat when needed. The rest of her clothes were normal, useful for fighting or traveling. She also packed a few more of her trademark jackets to make sure that she had enough if it was especially cold or if hers were ripped. All the weapons that she could possibly need were packed, and a katana that Neji had given her for her last birthday was strapped onto her back. Neji hadn't just given it to her; he had also taught her how to use it. Hinata knew how to pack quickly, and soon all of her things were either neatly arranged in her pack or in their proper places in her room. Her medical kit was put in last. That way, it was on the top of her stuff if she needed it for an emergency.

She carefully closed the pack and then hefted it to check the weight. It was heavier than she would have liked, but there was really no getting around it. She needed everything in it. Hinata lifted it onto her back and fastened the strap that went across her chest. The strap kept the pack firmly on her back with no sliding, which could throw her off balance in a fight or in tree jumping. Her hair was going to be in the way too, so she tied it back in a low ponytail, much tighter than the one that Neji kept his hair in. While her hair was useful to hide behind in a crowd or such, it could be a nuisance on missions, but she liked it anyway. With all of her things in their places, Hinata no longer had any excuses to put off telling her father that she was leaving. The girl quietly stepped into the hallway, closing her door behind her with one hand. Hiashi could usually be found in the council room during the hottest part of the afternoon.

When Hinata stepped into the council room, her father turned to face her. He had been meditating and now his eyes flashed with slight annoyance at being disturbed. She didn't even blink. He would have aimed the same annoyance at anyone else who had disturbed him, so Hinata didn't really care.

"Is there something that you needed, Hinata?" He asked, the annoyance fading slightly as soon as he realized that it was his older daughter.

"Ah...I just wanted to tell you that Neji nii-san and I are going on a mission...it's unknown length and rank...we'll be back as soon as we can..." he nodded.

"Be careful."

"Yes, father." Hinata bowed deeply, almost thrown off balance by the large pack on her back. "I have to go."

"Go on, Hinata," He nodded to her again, and she blushed and fled. There was enough time to find Kiba-kun and Shino-kun, maybe even Kurenai-sensei before she left, to say good-bye.

Neji honestly didn't mind going on a mission with Hinata. They had grown closer since their disastrous fight during the chunnin exam, when he had almost killed her. Admittedly, it hadn't happened right away, but gradually, he had gotten used to her quiet smiles and soothing presence. It really wasn't even surprising that Tsunade was sending them on a mission together. First of all, they both had the Byakugan, and it was an exploration mission. Secondly, both were trained diplomats and they had been ordered to try and make alliances. Third, they knew each others fighting styles from numerous spars and training sessions together, not to mention that they both used variations of the exact same style. Fourth, Tsunade never passed up a feasible opportunity to foster 'teamwork' and such between Konoha shinobi. Fifth, Tsunade and Neji both knew that if Neji didn't have a medic nin with him, he would run himself into the ground, passing up all rest in favor of completing the mission.

He ducked down and pulled his pack out from under his bed, absently checking through all of its pockets for anything that he might have left in them after the last mission that he had used it. Finding nothing, he dropped it unceremoniously on top of the bed and began rummaging through his closet. He was just as neat as Hinata, but he had significantly more complicated ways of arranging things. It was just the way he was. Neji pulled his shuriken and kunai out of the closet, giving them a quick once over to make sure that none of them were damaged or rusted. The weapons that earned his approval were tucked into the kunai pouch that was strapped to his thigh, and all of his extra pouches were quickly tossed into his pack. All of his clothes were folded and/or rolled to fit the most he could into his pack, and when he was finished with the clothes, the spare bandages for his arm and leg were fit into whatever space he could find. Lastly, Neji's katana was strapped to his back, the sheath under his pack, and thus sheltered from any bad weather.

The only thing that he had left to do was to tell Hiashi that he and Hinata had a mission, if his cousin hadn't told him already. When Neji walked out of his room, however, Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi was waiting. Hanabi's personality was closer to Neji's own than it was to her older sister's, so the two often butted heads. Unfortunately, since Hanabi was part of the Main Family, Neji couldn't rile her up too much, or the curse seal would be activated by her, if he got her angry enough, or another member of the Main Family if they saw it.

"Hello, Hanabi-sama," Neji said flatly. He wanted to tell Hiashi and leave, not talk to a little girl six years younger than him.

"Father sent me to tell you that Hinata nee-chan already told him about your mission. You don't have to," Hanabi decided to skip the pleasantries. She probably had better things to do than talk to him too.

"Thank you, Hanabi-sama." Neji bowed, giving her a faint smirk. It drove both her and Hinata insane whenever Neji bowed to them. He did it to Hanabi just to bug her, and he had mentally sworn to himself that he would bow to Hinata until she mustered up the courage to tell him to stop.

"Neji, don't do that!" Hanabi whirled and stalked off, shooting Neji an annoyed glare over her shoulder.

"Good bye, Hanabi-sama," Neji smirked at her one more time, just to annoyed her, and then turned and walked down the hallway opposite to the one that Hanabi had taken. Hopefully he would be able to find his entire team before he had to leave. Tenten, at least, wouldn't forgive him if he left on such a potentially dangerous mission without telling her and saying good-bye. Lee and Gai would probably start raving on about the power of youth, but if he died on his mission, they would regret not having said good-bye, and any decent ninja knew the distinct risk of dying on any mission.

Three hours later, Neji and Hinata were present and waiting in Tsunade's office. She was the only one that wasn't there. An exasperated chunnin had told them that Tsunade had vanished to avoid Shizune's wrath at her uncompleted paperwork. Neji had sighed and pulled out his katana and a whetstone, and begun to sharpen it with the mindlessness of someone who had done the same thing a million times, and knows that they will be doing the same thing another million times. Hinata had pulled out her medical supplies and begun to take careful inventory of all of her herbs and bandages and such. An hour later, Tsunade arrived, followed by a shrieking Shizune.

"Lady Tsunade, you have got to finish your paperwork! You've been putting it off for weeks!"

"It'll get done, it'll get done," Tsunade waved off her student's annoyance with one hand, and then glanced up, looking surprised to see Neji and Hinata there. "What're you two doing here?"

"H...H...Hokage-s...sama, you told us to s...s...s...show up an hour a...ago for o...o...our m...m...m...mission." Hinata stammered, closing her medical kit with utmost care and sliding it into her pack.

"Oh, I did? What was your mission again?" The Hokage asked.

"Exploring the place that someone found in a library." Neji sighed.

"Oh, right. Okay, here's the map of the place that was in the book." She handed it to Neji, who slid it into his pouch. "Now, we have to go up a few floors to an empty room that has the circle needed for the jutsu." She ushered them out the door and down the hall, ignoring Shizune's frustrated sigh.

"Circle?" Neji asked. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to accept this mission.

"Yes, circle. It's similar to the circles used for a summoning jutsu. Now, up the stairs. Go!" She gave them both a light (for her) shove in their lower backs, and the pair stumbled forward and up the stairs. Having a Hokage with super-strength wasn't always a good thing. Once they were at the top of the stairs, Tsunade took the lead and led them down the hallway to a room that was as stark white as any hospital room.

A number of nin were standing around the room at specific points, and all of them gave Neji and Hinata sympathetic looks. That didn't bode well. If whatever was going to happen was mild, they would have gotten at least some evil smirks. Total sympathy meant that something was up. The cousins shot each other a look, both sensing the same thing. They were doomed.

"You two, stand in the center." Tsunade pointed to the exact center of the room, where something that looked exactly like a summoning circle was drawn out, parts of it in blood. "Just stay still. We'll be channeling chakra through it to take you to Middle-Earth. And here," She handed Neji a scroll, "every week, you write on it with any ink, and it'll show up on the scroll that I have. If you don't write anything, I'll have to assume that you're dead. When you need to come back, write so on the scroll and we'll perform a summoning to bring you back to this room, wherever you are on the other side."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Neji and Hinata bowed, and then walked into the center of the circle. Tsunade took her place around the circle, and looked straight at them.

"Are you ready?" Neji and Hinata nodded. "Good. I'd recommend holding onto each other." And with that final warning, she and the rest of the nin began to channel their chakra through the circle. Neji quickly grabbed the sleeve of Hinata's jacket and latched onto it with all of his strength. Hinata did the same to the loose sleeve of the Hyuuga robes that Neji was wearing.

All at once, they felt something beginning to tear them apart. The world around them blurred, and then vanished, turning into darkness. It felt like they were moving or being pulled by something. Neji could see why Tsunade had told them to hold onto each other. He couldn't even see his cousin, and was in agony as he was ripped apart by chakra. His grip on Hinata and her grip on him was the only thing that told him that he was still alive. After what seemed like eons, the cousins slammed onto something hard, presumably the ground. Neji sat up, shaking slightly and holding his head. God that had hurt. Hinata flipped over onto her hands and knees and coughed up a few drops of blood. The result of her fight with Neji during their first chunnin exam was an exceptionally weak heart, and the stress of whatever had been done to her body to get her to where she was had been too much.

"N...N...N...Neji n...n...n...nii-san?" She gasped. He immediately moved over to her.

"What do you need, Hinata-sama?" He looked very guilty. He knew as well as she did what he had done to her, and he also knew quite well that it was his fault that she was coughing up blood.

"M...m...my m...medical k...kit." She gestured to her pack, and Neji opened it and pulled out the medical kit on top. Hinata opened it with shaking hands and pulled out a small vial of something. She uncorked it and wrinkled her nose slightly. Neji would have too, if he hadn't been Neji. Whatever was in that vial smelled disgusting. Hinata pinched her nose with one hand and quickly gulped the stuff down, gagging slightly at the taste.

"Are you alright, Hinata-sama?" Neji asked. He eyed the empty vial. What was that stuff?

"I'm fine, Neji nii-san. Tsunade-sama made this for me for when my heart starts missing beats." She gave him a faint smile, and Neji knew that she didn't blame him for what had happened, although they both knew that it honestly was his fault.

"Do you have enough of it for this mission, Hinata-sama?" she cringed slightly at the '-sama', but didn't say anything. Neji had long decided to treat this as he did his bowing. He'd keep doing it until she worked up the nerve to tell him to stop.

"I think so." Hinata pulled open a small drawer in the box, revealing many more vials. "Are you alright, Neji nii-san? You're paler than usual." Neji nodded. He was fine. The curse seal had flared briefly during the journey, but it had calmed down.

"I'm fine." Neji stood and offered his cousin a hand, which she took, and pulled her up. "We're on top of a large hill. Hopefully no one saw anything." He activated the Byakugan and scanned the area. "I don't see anything around." Hinata activated her own Byakugan. Around the edges of the hill were what looked like things that had been walls at one point in time, but weren't anymore.

"I don't see anything either. What should we do, Neji nii-san?"

"Stay here." Hinata gave him an odd look, clearly not understanding why Neji wanted to stay where they were if they were on an exploration mission. "We have a good vantage point from where we are, but we don't know where we are in this place. If we go wandering off, we're likely to get ourselves even more lost."

"Oh." Well, that made sense. "So we're staying how long?"

"Until we figure out where we are." Neji pulled the map out of his pouch and unfurled it. "I'd get settled if I were you, Hinata-sama. This might take awhile." Hinata walked over to her cousin and peered at the map from around his arm. This place had many, many mountains and hills. They could figure out which direction was north when the sun set, if this place followed the same rules, which she assumed that it did. Their navigation by the stars likely wouldn't work, though. She highly doubted that all of the stars were the same.

"Neji nii-san?"  
"Hn?" He looked up at her, obviously annoyed that she had disturbed him when he was studying the map.

"Ah...I was wondering...um...should I go look for firewood...or something?" She began studying the ground very intently, trying to escape her cousin's steady gaze.

"No firewood. A fire would be spotted too easily. If you could find a river nearby, that would be useful." Hinata nodded and cautiously made her way down the side of the hill, trying not to dislodge any stones that would fall and make noise. She was, in all honesty, more concerned for her own safety than her cousin's. Neji would be fine where he was, and he was a better fighter than her anyway. In all likelihood, if they had been somewhere that Neji had known, he would have insisted that she stay at the campsite, and he go get the water.

Hinata immediately took to the trees upon reaching the nearby forest. It was the terrain in which she felt most familiar and safe, even though she knew that trees also hid ambushes. Her Byakugan could pick out most, if not all, ambushes anyway, and as a Konoha nin, she was specially trained to fight in the trees. There was probably a river nearby, if there were all these trees and things, so it wasn't going to take long for her to find water. She was right. A small creek was nearby, probably too small to have a name, but it looked clean, and no one was around. She bent down and carefully trailed her fingers through the water. It was crystal clear. Hinata pulled a canteen out of her pack and filled it up. She looked around again to try and find something distinctive that would mark this place so she could find it later. Nothing caught her eye, but it wouldn't be that hard to find again anyway. She turned and returned to the large hill where Neji waited.

Neji had the map spread out on his lap as he studied it carefully. The sun was going to set in the west, and it was on his left, so he was facing north...there were mountains far, far to the east. Mountains in the east, woods and what looked like a marsh or something to the west...he was on a huge hill...there! That's where he was. The large hill he was on...the map was labeled in some foreign language...he couldn't read it. But that's where he was, in all likelihood. Hinata returned holding a canteen and smiling happily.

"Did you find any water?" He asked.

"Yes. There's a little creek over in the woods. Where are we, Neji nii-san?" She asked, settling herself down beside him.

"Right here. On this hill." Neji pointed to a hill on the map.

"But what does the caption say?" Hinata asked.

"I don't know. I just know where we are. But if we meet anyone here, which we're going to have to eventually, we probably won't be able to speak to them." Hinata nodded in response.

"So, where should we go first?"

"West to the shore, and then we'll turn back and go east." He folded the map up and tucked it away. "We'll leave tomorrow morning."

"Okay." And with that, Hinata settled into a meditative trance. It was a habit of hers to meditate before a mission if she had time, but since she wasn't doing anything right at that moment, it would be fine if she meditated then. Neji double-checked everything in his pack one more time before falling into his own trance. Judging from the surrounding area, no one lived nearby. They would be safe until morning.

A few hours later, the two ninja were startled out of their meditation by the sound of people talking. They exchanged a look before simultaneously rising to their feet. Whoever was talking was potentially a threat, and threats had to be eliminated. The voices seemed to be coming from somewhere on the hill, but they weren't particularly near the top. Neji glanced over at Hinata and activated his Byakugan. There were five chakra signatures on the hill, under a natural overhang on the side. Attempting to be completely silent, and actually achieving it, the cousins climbed downward, using chakra to stick to the steep slope and get close to where the people were. There was one grown man, and four of what were the size of children, but appeared to be older than any other children that Neji or Hinata had ever seen. They certainly were not ninja, whoever else they were. Their chakras were untamed, and three didn't even have significant chakra anyway. Two did.

One of the little people had chakra. It wasn't huge, like Naruto's chakra, for instance, but it seemed different than the others. He was also carrying a huge source of chakra, pure black chakra. It seemed to be tainting the person's own chakra. Most of it was the normal blue, but parts, mostly the parts where the black chakra touched, were turning an odd shade of purple. It gave Neji a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, reminding him of a Sound nin's chakra when the curse seal was activated. A Sound nin had almost killed him on a mission to try and bring back Naruto's teammate, Uchiha Sasuke. Hinata hadn't seen chakra like this before, however, and was more curious than anything. She looked over at Neji to see his reaction, and noticed how he had tensed and paled.

"Neji nii-san?" She whispered, gently tugging at the sleeve of his robes.

"I'm fine," He answered. "Just...reminiscing about Sound nin." Nodding, she gently squeezed his arm.

Hiding the sickness that appeared at the sight of the person's tainted chakra, Neji began to study the other person that had any significant chakra. It was the only normal sized person, and he looked like he had spent years in the wild. None of which, apparently, had given him a chance to bathe, judging from the dirt that caked his clothes and skin. His chakra was strong, but it wasn't developed at all. In all likelihood, Neji reflected to himself, the man probably would have made a decent ninja if he had been trained properly as a child. The man handed each of the little people a dagger and left.

"What do we do, Neji nii-san?" Hinata asked quietly.

"Watch them. They look very vulnerable, and ninja are not just hired mercenaries. We have a conscience." Neji hissed the end part half to himself.

"Alright." Hinata shifted slightly to a leaning position that didn't require her to put so much weight on her hands. She still had to channel chakra to stay on, of course, but her wrists weren't as likely to fall asleep. "How long do we stay, Neji nii-san?"

"As long as we need to. We're here to map out the country. We can do it just as well following them as we can on our own." Hinata simply nodded.

The ninja watched the little people for awhile, until the one with chakra fell asleep. Neji hissed with disapproval, and Hinata's eyes went very wide, when the other three set up a fire. Those idiots! People would be able to see that fire for miles! MILES!

"Neji nii-san, if people are going to come, I'm going to hide our packs up top, I'll be right back," Hinata turned and effortlessly climbed back up to the top of the hill. Neji stayed where he was, quietly emitting huge waves of disapproval. When Hinata returned, she gave him a faint smile in the fading light to try and calm him. It didn't work as well as she would have hoped, but enough that Neji's chakra relaxed.

"Hinata-sama, look over there." Neji said suddenly, pointing toward the forest. Hinata did as her cousin said, focusing her Byakugan. Five chakras that reminded both of them of the odd chakra that the person was holding were coming quickly toward the hill. The two ninja tensed and drew their katanas. The little person that had fallen asleep woke up and jumped up, quickly putting out the fire. Too late. The black chakras were at the base of the hill, and quickly getting closer. Whatever the things were gave a heart-stopping shriek. It sent chills up their spines.

The little people scrambled to their feet and grabbed their daggers, hurrying up a small path to the top of the hill. Neji and Hinata clambered up their side of the hill. Both were grateful that Hinata had thought to hide their packs. Hinata hid in the shadow of one of the ruined statues, and Neji crouched behind a giant piece of masonry that had fallen long ago. The little people finally managed to get to the top of hill, and Neji and Hinata watched as they turned their backs to where the ninja were hiding and clutched their daggers tightly. The five beings with the chakra that Neji had seen emerged from the shadows in front of the little people, looking like demons from hell. They wore large black cloaks, had metal pointed boots, and skeletal hands. Each of them had a sword in their hand. The one in front stepped up to the little people, hand outstretched menacingly.

One of the people, the fattest one, lunged forward in a pathetic attempt to ward off the creatures. He was ruthlessly slammed aside into a large rock. The other two stepped in front of the one with the odd chakra, but they were knocked aside as well. The person with the strange chakra stumbled backwards, tripped, dropped his dagger, pulled something from around his neck, and disappeared. Neji and Hinata tensed at that. The person's chakra was being rapidly tainted by the black chakra. Strangely enough, while the other little people looked like they were wondering where their friend had disappeared to, the creatures seemed to know exactly where he was. The lead one reached out for something, but sharply pulled back, as if slapped. It then thrust its sword forward into what was part of the little person's chakra. The person screamed, reappearing as the creature pulled its sword out.

At the same time, Neji and Hinata decided that enough was enough, and leapt out of their hiding places, katanas drawn. The creatures looked up at them, startled, as the ninja advanced. Out of absolutely nowhere, the man that had been with the little people leapt out of the darkness, blade drawn in one hand and a torch in the other. He swung his sword wildly, but with a great amount of skill, blocking the swings of the cloaked creatures. He set one on fire, and it fled, shrieking.

"Hinata-sama, do not touch these things with your blade!" Neji ordered. "We need fire!" He threw a kunai with an explosive tag at the nearest one and muttered the activation word. It exploded in a burst of flame, sending the creature running. Hinata threw her own explosive tag soon after, torching a third.

While Neji was fighting one, the other managed to get right behind him and inside his guard. He managed to force the one in front of him to back off, and whirled to deal with his other attacker. It was too close for his sword, however, and he was forced to resort to the Hyuuga taijutsu, Gentle Fist. The ninja managed to plug up a few of its chakra points before the man set it on fire, and Hinata dealt with the other one. The man ran over to the injured person, and Hinata ran over to Neji. Her cousin was clutching at the hand that had touched the thing, and he had dropped his blade.

"Hinata-sama..." He gasped. "It burns." She pulled his hand over so she could see it. The tips of his fingers did appear to be burned, but when Hinata looked at it with the Byakugan, his fingers looked like the little person's chakra. They were tainted, almost purple.

"I don't know what this is, Neji nii-san. I've never seen anything like it." She looked up at him with anxious eyes as he swayed slightly. "Are you alright?"

"I can't move my hand," he whispered. His voice shook slightly. The man ran over to them, the injured little person slung over one shoulder. He said something in another language. Hinata shook her head, showing that she had no idea what he was saying. He said something else in another language, and she shook her head again. He sighed exaggeratedly and gestured for them to follow him. Hinata grabbed their packs from where she had stashed them and gently strapped Neji's onto his back.

"Neji nii-san, can you keep up with them?" He nodded silently, wounded hand held tightly against his chest. The man led them down the hill, where they collected a small pony, and into a forest.

A/N: So…………whaddya think? R&R!


	2. Fight For Life

(**Strider's POV**)

A/N: Here's Chapter 2 of 'Of Elves and Ninja'. Just so people know, I have enough for maybe two or three more chapters written out already, but past that I'm going to have to try and stay ahead. School's interfering a lot, so if I don't update for awhile, that's why. Anyway, I'm really glad to see that people like this story. For anyone that's looking for a really good LOTR crossover, check out 'The Leaf that Found Its Way' by indogirl7. It's how I got the idea for this story! And without further ado, Hinata, disclaimer please! n.n

Hinata: Ah……O…….o……..o………Overlyinspired d….does n…..n……n…….not own N….n…..Naruto or L…..l………..l…….l………lord of t…t……the R……r……rings. Arigatou. :bows:

(Strider's POV)

Strider had been shocked when he returned to Weathertop and heard the screeches of Nazgul. The blades that he had given the hobbit would not have been enough for them to stay alive for long. He had lit a torch as quickly as he could, drawn his blade, and dashed up the hill. As he mounted the crest of the hill, he saw the Witchking pulling his sword out of a screaming Frodo. Sam was stunned, having been thrown into a rock, and Merry and Pippin had been carelessly tossed aside. To his surprise, as the Nazgul reached out to take the Ring from Frodo, two figures leapt out of the rubble, each holding a sword. For a moment, Strider thought that the two were elves, but as he watched them fight, it was obvious that they had never heard of Nazgul before. He set the one closest to himself on fire, and watched as one of the people yelled something to the other.

Soon, to his amazement, the one that had spoken threw something at one of the Nazgul. It exploded in a huge burst of flame. The other one threw something at another one, and it too exploded. The two Ringwraiths that were left both decided to gang up on one other the people, and he/she (Strider couldn't really tell), managed to shove one back and turned to deal with the one behind him. The Nazgul had gotten inside the person's guard, and Strider was sure that they were doomed, until they reached out with their left hand and deftly poked the Ringwraith, looking as if they had done this a million times. Surprisingly, the creature stumbled back, and Strider set it on fire. The other person exploded the last Nazgul, and it ran. Strider ran over to Frodo, who was on the ground, still screaming. His friends were crouched beside him.

He slung Frodo over his shoulder and ran over to the two people. When they turned to look at him, he could see their eyes. Both of them were disconcertingly blank. No pupils at all. He could also see that one of them was male and one was female. They looked like they were related, possibly brother and sister. They also were very young, probably about seventeen or eighteen. The girl was gently holding the boy's hand, examining it. The tips of his fingers were purple, and he was shaking slightly. Strider told them to follow him in the Common Tongue. The girl shook her head, apparently not understanding. He tried again in Elvish. Another head shake. Finally, he just gestured for them to follow him. The girl said something to the boy, and he nodded. Then the girl ran over to a large rock and pulled two packs out from beneath. She strapped the boy's onto his back.

Strider led the rest of the hobbits and the other two down the hill, catching Bill the pony on the way by. Frodo was moaning quietly from Strider's shoulder, and his eyes were glazed over. The boy and the girl were keeping pace with him, and looked like they could probably go faster, even though Strider was running almost as fast as he could. He took the opportunity to study them. They both had long, dark hair. The girl's, however, had a slightly purple gleam in its current light, and the boy's was jet black. They each had a blade on their backs, and a pouch strapped to their right thighs. Their packs were large, and looked heavy, but they didn't seem to mind. The boy's right arm and left leg each had bandages wrapped around them. Also, the boy had a headband with a strange symbol on his forehead, and the girl had the same headband around her neck.

"Strider, what can we do?" Sam called from the back of line as he led Bill.

"We have to get to help from the elves." He called back.

"But we're six days from Rivendell!" The hobbit called back.

"I know!" Strider yelled.

"Strider, how do you know that we can trust those people?!" Pippin asked, almost falling over.

"They saved you, didn't they?" He responded. "And one of them got hurt. He needs Elvish medicine to heal his hand." Merry and Pippin looked over at the two people that had rescued them. The boy was holding his left hand tightly against his chest as he ran.

The group ran for days, only pausing for about two hours a day. Frodo was steadily getting worse. He was completely delirious, and his face was white. The boy's hand was completely useless by that point, as was almost half of his arm. Purple tendrils were winding their way through his pale skin, and with each passing day, he slowed down a little more. The girl had to help him keep going because everytime she let go, he started to sway. Then, on the fifth day, Frodo got really bad, really fast. Strider lay him down on a blanket and pulled his tunic open to check the wound. The skin around it was an extremely dark purple. There wasn't much time before Frodo became a wraith like the Nazgul.

"Sam, have you heard of athelas?" he asked.

"Athelas?" The hobbit's face had confusion written all over it.

"Kingsfoil," Strider said the name in the Common Tongue.

"Ah, it's a weed." Sam shrugged.

"But it may help to slow the poison," Strider said. "For Frodo and the other boy," He glanced over at where the other boy lay limply on the grass, eyes closed. The girl was crouched beside him, one hand resting on his cheek. Sweat was beading his face, and he appeared to be having trouble breathing.

(**Ninja POV**)

Hinata and Neji had kept pace with the man for five days, but Neji was getting much worse. The hobbits were all obviously worried about their friend, but they all dropped asleep the moment that the man let them stop. By the fifth day, Hinata had to help Neji even stand. Whatever the poison was, it had spread. Neji couldn't use his left arm at all, and purple tendrils had wound their way up his arm. Even though it appeared to only be in his arm, it had traveled to his lungs and possibly his heart.

When the man called a stop and lay the little person down, Neji fell where he stood. His eyes were tightly closed, and breathing hurt. He felt Hinata's hand on his face as she attempted to rouse him enough to get some water down his throat.

"Neji nii-san, you need water. Please, drink." Her hand slid under his head enough to lift it off of the ground. She held out the canteen, but he couldn't lift his arm enough to take it. Finally, Hinata rested his head on her shoulder and poured some water into his mouth. She watched as the man and one of the little people left, seemingly looking for something. Maybe that something would help Neji. He stirred slightly, and opened his eyes.

One of the little people came over and sat down in front of them, curiosity written in every part of him. He reached out and tugged on Hinata's sleeve, saying something. All she could do was shake her head. How was she supposed to know what the thing was saying? When the man and the little person returned, there was someone else with them. A tall man with fair hair and blue eyes knelt down beside the hurt little person. He had a beautiful brown horse with him. It looked around, an intelligent gleam in its eyes. Hinata's Byakugan could see the person's chakra. It was pure white.

"Neji nii-san, look at his chakra," She whispered. Anything that would get him to focus. She could see him attempt to build up his chakra enough for his Byakugan, but he was forced to let it go with a quiet moan. The man turned to regard the cousins with wise blue eyes. He walked over to them and crouched down in front of them, brushing Neji's hair away with one hand.

Hinata instinctively pulled Neji closer to herself to try and protect him. She wasn't giving him to a total stranger with odd chakra, especially since she couldn't understand what he was saying. The blond man turned to the other one and asked for something, holding out one hand. At this close distance, with his long hair not in the way, Hinata could see that his ears were pointed. The other man gave the person in front of them a small plant with tiny white flowers, saying something that sounded like it was urgent. The man in front of them gave him a patient look, and turned back to them. He ripped a piece of the plant off and chewed it carefully, soon pulling it out of his mouth and grabbing Neji's left arm. He turned it palm up and said something to the dark-haired man, who came over and cut a long slice through Neji's hand. Hinata immediately lashed out with her free hand, knocking the dark-haired man over and startling the blond one.

He said something that was probably meant to soothe her and pulled Neji's hand toward himself. Hinata saw her cousin's eyes flicker open and widen as he saw who was touching him. The man carefully began to push the plant paste into the gash on Neji's hand. Hinata held her cousin as he screamed, eyes rolling into the back of his head.

"Neji nii-san! Neji nii-san, breathe!" She ordered frantically as he arched out of her grip. The blond man caught her cousin and lifted him, standing up as he did so. Hinata stood as well, wondering what was going on. The blond man turned to the dark-haired one and said something. The other one nodded.

The man gently unstrapped Neji's pack from his back and lay it down on the ground. He started to lift Neji onto the horse, but Hinata shifted her own pack around so that it was on the front of her, and tugged on the man's sleeve. He gave her a confused look, and she gestured to her back. He hesitated, and then laid Neji across her back. She sank slightly from the extra weight, but regained her balance soon enough. She pointed to Neji's pack, and made a questioning noise. The dark-haired man picked it up and strapped it to the pony's back. Hinata gave him a smile and turned back to the blond man and the horse. The injured little person was lifted onto the horse, and the blond man mounted behind him. He said something to the horse, and it started off at a gallop. Hinata bolted after him. She could actually keep up with a horse under normal conditions, but having Neji on her back and a heavy pack on her front was slowing her slightly. As it was, she could still keep up, but it took more effort than it would have.

The man gave her a surprised look that she had managed to keep up, but kept the horse going. Suddenly, to Hinata's horror, there was an unearthly shriek. Hinata looked up at the man on the horse, and he was looking slightly worried. He glanced down at her and asked something. She gave him a confused look. Was he asking if she could go faster? He was probably keeping pace with her because he thought that she was going as fast as she could. Hoping that she was right, Hinata sped up, running as fast as she could. She was far outstripping the horse. The man gave a feral grin and yelled something to his horse. It immediately leapt forward to catch up with her. Another shriek filled the air. Hinata glanced back and saw nine, NINE, of the things that had attacked them before, mounted on black horses, and rapidly catching up.

"Neji nii-san!" She called back. He stirred slightly and lifted his head.

"Hai?" He asked drowsily, eyes flickering.

"Neji nii-san, look behind us!" She felt him turn slightly on her back, and he tensed. "Can you toss a few exploding tags back? Please?"

"I can't aim well..." His head slumped back against her shoulder. His strength was fading fast, much too fast.

"Please! Neji nii-san, focus!" She pleaded. She felt him rouse himself slightly, and soon she heard him sliding a kunai out of his pouch. He threw it behind them, trying to aim through the haziness of his vision. Neji had to focus chakra to set the tag off. He built the chakra up, and whispered the activation word. A large explosion told them that he had been successful. The man on the horse whirled, looking alarmed. Hinata managed to tug on his pants slightly and shook her head. It was fine. Their pursuers weren't doing anything. Hinata, much to her horror, felt Neji fall against her back again. He had passed out, and now he was just a dead weight. He couldn't support himself at all.

The man on the horse led them through a large forest, and Hinata took to the trees. She could go just as fast above as below, and it felt much safer anyway. On her back, Neji remained limp. His breathing sounded forced, and felt odd against her back. It didn't have the correct steady rhythm that she was used to. The creatures pursuing them shrieked again and Hinata somehow found the strength to speed up. They quickly came into view, nine ghastly figures on horseback. The man on horseback swerved in and out of view, dodging around trees and leaping over rocks and logs. Soon, he led them to a river. His horse plunged across, and Hinata followed, stopping on the other bank when the horse did. She gave the man a confused look. Shouldn't they keep going? He returned her look with a reassuring one of his own. Hinata actually felt better and stayed where she was. Soon, the black things came into view, racing toward the river. Hinata felt her sense of panic return, and she took a step backwards. The man gave her another gentle look, and she stopped. He would protect her. She could feel it.

The creatures continued to advance, and the frontrunners hooves were in the water when the man began to chant something in another language. It sounded like the one that the dark-haired man had tried to talk to her in. He chanted, one hand raised, the other clutching the little person. All of a sudden, Hinata heard roaring water, and she turned to see a huge wave of water rushing down the river. Even as it came toward the black things, the crest of the wave formed itself into the heads of racing horses. The black creatures tried to flee, but the water bore down on them and pulled all of them and their horses under, rolling them over and over. As soon as the creatures were under, the river calmed itself. Hinata stared at the water until she heard a gasp from on top of the horse. She turned to see the little person seizing up, gasping for air. The man shouted something to the horse, and it wheeled and dashed off. Hinata followed as best as she could, but she was growing weaker, and Neji still hadn't stirred.

When she stumbled, the man on the horse didn't even turn, and Hinata forced herself to keep going. She had to find help for Neji, and safety and information. Her determination couldn't last forever though, and eventually, her legs gave out. She fell, dropping her cousin. As she tried to rise, her legs just wouldn't hold her, and she began to cough from the strain. Soon, blood was spotting the ground in front of her. Nearby, Neji's breathing was harsh and labored. He was deathly pale, and his eyes were shut.

"N...N...N...N...Neji nii-san," She gasped. He had to wake up, and she had to get the vials in her pack. She clumsily undid the straps with one hand and let it fall, digging through it to find her medical kit. It had the vials that could stop her coughing. Soon she had it in front of her, and she managed to open a vial and pour it down her throat. The coughing ceased. She stood, shaking slightly, and closed her pack up. If she couldn't move Neji, she could at least try and make him comfortable.

Suddenly, he started to gasp for air, and soon he was spasming. Hinata crawled over to him, and held him tightly against her chest. The poison, whatever it was, was killing her cousin, and he was in agony. His eyes shot open, but it was clear that he couldn't see her, even though she was crouched beside him. He clutched tightly at her coat with his good arm, moaning in pain. Hinata felt her eyes starting to water. Neji was her cousin, and she had always thought of him as invincible, the same way most children regarded their fathers or older brothers. Seeing him after the battle with the Sound-nin had been almost unbearable. Seeing him now, holding him, when he was so vulnerable, was tearing her heart to pieces. What could she do? Her cousin was dying, and she was too weak to take him anywhere. Hinata felt the tears that had been building in her eyes start to fall, and she leaned her head on Neji's good shoulder. Her vision went hazy from tears, and then Hinata fell into blackness.

A/N: So, what do you think? o.O R&R please! For Hinata's self esteem!

Hinata: (blushes)


	3. Healing

**A/N:** M'kay……here's Chapter 3…………can't really think of anything else to say…………Okay, a note on Glorfindel. He doesn't show up in the movies, but in the books, he's the elf that rides out and brings Frodo to Rivendell. He's the only elf to ever kill a Balrog. And he is AWESOME! And the disclaimer will be said by none other than our Balrog slayer himself!

Glorfindel: Overlyinspired does not own the Lord of the Rings or Naruto, as much as she wishes otherwise.

LANGUAGE NOTE

"English"-Ninja language

"English"-Elvish (Or at least the type of the Rivendell elves)

"_English_"-Common

**(Elven POV)**

Glorfindel had been very surprised when the girl had not only been able to carry the boy, but also keep up with his horse. What had surprised him even more was when the boy had stirred enough to throw something over his shoulder. The something had exploded. The girl had leapt into the trees once they were in forest, still managing to keep up with him. Glorfindel hadn't had time to consider this, though, because the Nazgul had been catching up. The girl had kept up with him all the way to the river and across it, managing not to stumble once. She had appeared to be alarmed at the sight of the racing water and the Nazgul. After the Nazgul had been washed away, Glorfindel had wheeled his horse and bolted toward Rivendell. Lord Elrond was the only one that had the power to heal the Hobbit, and even that wasn't going to be enough if they didn't there soon.

To his faint horror, the girl soon stumbled. She managed to keep going for a little bit, but then she had fallen again. That time, she hadn't gotten up. Glorfindel felt bad about leaving her and the boy, but they would be safe where they were. The boy would probably die soon too, though, but the Ringbearer took priority, sadly enough for him. Lord Elrond was waiting at the main doors of his home when Glorfindel pulled his horse to a stop and handed Frodo down.

"Are the others on their way?" Elrond asked, accepting the Ringbearer from her friend.

"Aragorn and three other Hobbits are coming. There were two others with them, a boy and a girl. They looked young, and the boy touched a Nazgul. He's dying." Elrond's head shot up at this.

"Where are they?!"

"Inside the border, slightly past the river. The girl was carrying him but she collapsed. She ran out of strength."

"Send the twins to get them. If he's been poisoned by a Nazgul, he doesn't have much time left." Glorfindel nodded and walked briskly into the house, calling loudly.

"Elladan, Elohir, come down!" He called. Two dark-haired elves came running. They were the spitting image of each other. Elrond's twin sons were known for mischief, but their faces were the epitome of seriousness.

"What do you need?" Elladan asked.

"Two humans, just inside the border. A boy and a girl. The boy has been poisoned by a Nazgul. You need to bring them here." Glorfindel ordered. "Lord Elrond, we should get the Ringbearer inside." Elrond shifted his grip on the Hobbit and nodded, turning and walking inside. The twins ran out to the stables and saddled their horses, mounting and riding as fast as they could. Glorfindel had said that the humans were somewhere inside the river, so they couldn't be too far away. Soon enough, their keen elf eyes made out the form of two people, both lying on the ground.

They dismounted and ran over to them. The girl's head was resting on the boy's right shoulder. She appeared to be unconscious. Elohir lifted her and placed her on his horse to let his twin get the boy. When Elladan lifted him, he moaned and slumped back against his shoulder. Both of the people had long, dark hair, and when the boy's eyes fluttered open for a moment, they were revealed to be pure white. Was he blind? He carefully placed the boy on the horse in front of him and mounted up. He tried to avoid the sight of the boy's left arm as best as he could. The pale skin was mottled purple, and the hand was dead looking.

"How is he?" Elohir asked.

"Not good. He needs Adar's help very badly." Elladan replied. He gently kicked his horse's sides, and it started off at a gallop. Elohir quickly followed, the girl safely in his grip.

Erestor, the head of Elrond's household, was waiting for them at the door. He gave them a disapproving look as the twins dismounted. He was probably just upset about the amount of dirt that was going to be tracked in on his clean floors at the arrival of Strider and the other hobbits.

"Where should we put these two?" Elohir asked. He slid off of his horse, and was about to pull the girl off when her eyes shot open. She almost fell off the horse before she realized where she was and froze. The elf reached his hand up to her, and she cautiously took it. He pulled her off of the horse. The girl didn't even look like she really needed the help, but she looked nervous about being on the animal. Once she was on the ground again, she started to look around, and then froze.

Correctly interpreting that she wanted to know where the boy was, Erestor pointed to where the boy was, sitting in front of Elladan. She stumbled over to him and gently grabbed his hand. Her eyes were huge as she turned to look at Elohir and Erestor. She tightly clutched as his good arm, not letting go even when Elladan pulled him off of the horse. She hovered anxiously at Elladan's side as he carried the boy into the house. Elohir attempted to lead her to another room, but she pushed his hand away and continued to follow Elladan.

**(Ninja POV)**

Hinata had vaguely felt someone lift her onto something, maybe a horse, before she started moving. Someone was holding her, someone strong, and she felt safe. She wondered if the person holding her was Neji. Then, the person said something. She didn't recognize a single word. Whatever she was on stopped, and the person behind her wasn't there anymore. A pair of hands were about to pull her down when she opened her eyes. She was on a horse, first of all, and second of all, the person that as about to pull her down was completely unfamiliar. She froze, wondering what to do, but the man holding his hand out looked nice, and she didn't want to spook the animal. She took the hand and let the man pull her down.

Once she was on the ground, her curiosity took over, and she began to look around. Her Byakugan wasn't activated because she didn't want them to see it, so she couldn't see everything around, but that was okay. Suddenly, her memory came back. Neji nii-san! She froze again. Where was he?! The stern looking man tapped her on the shoulder and pointed behind her. Hinata whirled, and ran over to Neji, who was unconscious in front of another man on a horse. The man on the horse looked exactly like the man that had been holding her. They were twins, she guessed. Hesitant, almost wondering if Neji would break, Hinata reached up and held Neji's good hand. He didn't respond. The man on the horse swung down and pulled her cousin off into his arms. Hinata quickly followed him into the house, not even bothering to remove her shoes in her haste. Neji nii-san was more important.

The man that looked like the man that was holding Neji gently tugged at her sleeve. He obviously wanted to lead her somewhere else. Too bad for him. Hinata shrugged his hand off. She was staying with her cousin! The man eventually turned into a room. Hinata followed. Her cousin was laid out on a large bed, and the man reached to remove his headband. Instantly, Hinata pushed his hand away from Neji. She was positive that he wouldn't appreciate having his curse seal revealed to a bunch of strangers. The man gave her an odd look, but didn't press the point. He unfastened Neji's kunai pouch instead, placing it on the bedside table. Hinata pulled off Neji's sandals, and then her own, setting them neatly at the foot of the bed. The man's twin came into the room, a bowl of water and a clean cloth in his hands. Hinata made a quiet noise and held her hands out for it. She could take care of her cousin. She was a medic-nin, even if no one here knew that. The twins exchanged looks, and one said something to the other, before the bowl was placed in her hands. She offered the two a smile in thanks. They grinned back.

She set the bowl down on the table and wet the cloth, wringing it out as much as she could before wiping Neji's face. She hesitated for a moment, wondering if he would be angry at what she was going to do next. Maybe he would, but it was for his own good. She dropped the cloth in the bowl and untied Neji's headband. She wasn't willing to let a stranger do it, but she knew what she was dealing with. She pulled the headband away and folded it up before placing it reverently on the table. Neji nii-san's things would get only the highest respect from her. At the sight of the curse seal, the two men leaned in slightly to see it better. Hinata made a shooing gesture with her hands, though, and they backed away. She dampened the cloth again and skimmed it over Neji's forehead, hoping that it didn't hurt him. Her cousin didn't stir, though, so she probably wasn't making it any worse. One of the men pulled a chair over next to where Hinata was standing, and then the pair left. She sat down in it and grabbed Neji's hand, leaning her head on her other arm. There wasn't really anything that she could think of to do for Neji now, so it was best that she stayed where she was.

**(Elven POV)**

Elrond had taken Frodo into the first guest room that he had come across. The sooner he started the healing process, the more likely it was that he could call the Ringbearer back. The twins had gone to retrieve the boy and girl, so they would probably be arriving soon. Aragorn and the hobbits were also on their way. Glorfindel had gone to alert Erestor, his head of household, to be on the lookout for the twins, and then he had promised to come to Elrond to be sent to get anything Elrond needed for the healing process. In the meantime, Elrond carefully rested his hands on the hobbit's temples. He closed his eyes and fell into a healing trance. Elrond knew that he could only be in a shallow trance because if he went any deeper, he would collapse. He needed a chair if he didn't want to end up on the floor. Glorfindel arrived quickly. He already had a chair in hand. Having worked with his lord for thousands of years, he knew what Elrond needed to heal.

"Elrond, sit down." He set it down behind Elrond, who immediately fell into it, body completely limp. Glorfindel settled down on the foot of the bed. His lord was going to be in his trance for a few hours, if past experience was any indication.

Elrond was inside the Ringbearer's core. He didn't usually go as far into a person had he had for Frodo, but he had in the past, so he wasn't surprised by his surroundings. He was in what appeared to be a room, but the appearance of the room startled him slightly. It looked like a room that had once been painted pure white, but had been deserted for millennia, and left to mold and decay. The walls were rotting and gray, and Frodo himself was in a corner of the room, huddled down into a ball. He walked over to Frodo, feeling the floor beneath him lighten in his wake.

"_Frodo_," He said, bending down slightly and resting one hand on the hobbit's shoulder. He jerked back, looking up with wide blue eyes. "_Frodo, come back to the light. Come back._" The hobbit shook his head slightly. "_Frodo, look at yourself._" The Ringbearer's eyes flitted downwards at himself, and then looked back up at Elrond. His eyes showed only horror. Elrond understood. Frodo's body was becoming transparent as he became a wraith.

"_What must I do?_" The hobbit whispered.

"_You know. Come back to the light._" Elrond pointed behind him, to the opposite wall of the room. There was a shining white door where Elrond had entered Frodo's core, and a trail that led to where the Elf Lord's feet stood. Frodo looked from Elrond to the door, and the room lightened somewhat.

"_I'm not sure,_" Frodo said quietly.

"_Come back to the light. Your friends have been caring for you for days._" The room lightened slightly more. "_Strider would have given his life for you,_" The room lightened again. "_Come back to the light, Frodo._" The hobbit looked around the room and down at himself, then back up at Elrond. He stood.

"_I think I will,_" Frodo smiled slightly, but his eyes were worried. The room grew even lighter, almost white, but not quite.

"_Don't worry, Frodo. Come. I will make sure that you're safe,_" The room lightened even more, until it was pure white and shining. The hobbit nodded and smiled again, eyes no longer frightened. Elrond followed him out of the room.

The Elf Lord opened his eyes and sat up, one hand going to the small of his back. He was amazingly stiff and exhausted. A warm pair of hands descended to his shoulders and began to rub circulation back into them. He turned to see that it was Glorfindel, who looked very worried.

"How is he?" The blond elf asked. Elrond stood and stretched.

"He should make a full recovery. He was smart enough to know that something wasn't right in him. How long?"

"Three hours, milord. That other boy has been getting worse. I don't know if even you can call him back now." Elrond frowned.

"Let me see him." Glorfindel cast a quick look at the sleeping Ringbearer before leading his Lord down the hallway and into the boy's room. He was lying on the bed, eyes screwed shut and breathing harshly. The girl that Glorfindel had mentioned was sitting beside the bed. She had a damp cloth in her hands and was bathing the boy's face. She had an odd headband around her neck, and there was another one on the table beside the bed. It probably belonged to the boy, who now that Elrond was looking at him, had an odd symbol on his forehead. Glorfindel pulled up another chair and set it on the other side of the bed.

"Can you do it?" The blond elf asked.

"I'm not sure." Elrond sat down on the edge of the chair and rested his hands on the boy's temples like he had done for Frodo. The girl tensed. She looked like she was ready to fight him off and get him away from the boy, but Glorfindel placed a restraining hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him and glanced over at Elrond before settling down in her chair. Her eyes showed faint suspicion, and she didn't release the boy's hand.

Elrond closed his eyes and fell into the trance for the second time. Whether it was because of exhaustion or because this boy was closer to becoming a wraith than Frodo, it was harder to penetrate to this boy's core. When he did, however, he was horrified. Elrond could barely see a foot in front of him in the blackness of this boy's center. He hesitated, glancing behind him quickly at the door for reassurance. It glowed in the blackness, not the blazing white that it normally was. This boy had tainted it already. Elrond looked down at the floor. The spot where his feet rested was glowing like the door. Well, if he couldn't see, he would have to make his own light. He stepped forward a few steps. His footsteps illuminated the room, covering it with a very faint glow. He looked around. A figure was standing in the middle of the room, head bowed.

Elrond stepped up to the figure and reached out a hand. The figure whirled, pushing his hand away. It was the boy. His face was deathly white, and his eyes glittered in the dark. They were pure white. Elrond wondered if the boy was blind. The way the boy's eyes flicked between his hand and his face was evidence to the contrary, however. The Elf Lord held out his hand again. The boy took a step away from him, sliding a blade out of a sheath on his back. Elrond stepped back, holding his hands up in a gesture of peace. The boy lowered his blade slightly. His eyes showed confusion.

"_I'm not here to harm you,_" Elrond said quietly in the Common Tongue. The boy shook his head, clearly not understanding. He said something in his own language, and Elrond shook his own head. He hesitated, wondering how to communicate with the boy.

"_Elrond,_" He pointed to himself. The boy blinked.

"Neji," He said.

"_Neji?_" Elrond asked. The boy nodded and backed into the darker sections of the room.

"_Come out, please. Come back to the light,_" He looked sadly at the boy, who was already mostly transparent. How could he get through to him?

**(Ninja POV)**

Neji hadn't gotten any better as the hours had gone by. Actually, he had only gotten worse. Hinata had spent the hours alternately bathing his face and watching him sleep. Actually, she had started to worry that he might not make it. Even with him as vulnerable as he was, some part of her had held on to the view of Neji as all-powerful. Watching him slowly die in front of her eyes, however, was causing that view to quickly fade. She dipped the cloth in the bowl and wrung it out again.

Hinata watched as the blond man from before lead another dark-haired man into the room. She continued what she had been doing, bathing Neji's face. The two men said something to each other, and then the blond man set up a chair on the opposite side of the bed. The dark-haired man sat down and rested his hands on Neji's temples. Hinata started to move to push his hands away, but the blond man rested a hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him. The same feeling that she had gotten back at the river overwhelmed her again. He wouldn't let anything bad happen. Well...the dark-haired man might be able to help. She watched him carefully, entwining her fingers with Neji's. She had a duty to him as a comrade and as a member of the Main Family to protect him at all costs.

To her surprise, the dark-haired man went limp in his seat. One look back at the blond man showed that things were probably okay. Maybe this was normal. An hour passed, but the blond man didn't show any concern. This must have been normal too. Okay, if it would help Neji nii-san, it would be fine. When the dark-haired man's face contorted slightly in shock, though, the blond man tensed. Okay, this was not normal. This was bad. Neji nii-san was dying, and whatever these people were doing wasn't helping. Hinata's mind started to race. What could she do? She had heard that people in a coma could sometimes hear what was going on around them; maybe she could wake him if she got though to him with something that she said!

"Neji nii-san!" She shouted. The blond man rested one hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. "Neji nii-san, wake up! Don't die! Your teammates are waiting! Gai-san is waiting! They're going to want you to come home! Neji nii-san! For Tenten-chan! For Lee-san! For...for...me! For...Naruto-kun! Naruto wouldn't give up, Neji nii-san! Don't give up!" The blond man grabbed her arms and started to attempt to pull her away. She slammed her foot back into his knee. Apologies later, Neji nii-san first! "Neji nii-san! NEJI NII-SAN! Naruto-kun would never forgive me if you didn't come home! NEJI NII-SAN! WAKE UP!"

**(Elrond POV)**

Elrond was wondering how to coax the boy out of the shadows and save him if they couldn't even speak to each other. He stood where he was. He was probably in the brightest part of the room. Light helped him think more than being entrapped in darkness did. Elves, by their very natures, were slightly claustrophobic. They needed open air and trees, not caves and darkness. Suddenly, to his surprise, a voice entered the blackness. It sounded like it probably belonged to the girl. He recognized the word 'Neji', as the boy's name, but that was it.

The room, out of nowhere, became several shades lighter. He could make out the borders of the room, and saw something on one of the walls. Elrond walked over to the wall and reached up to it. There were three picture frames on the wall. He lifted them down one at a time. The first one he recognized as the girl that had been by the boy's bedside. Elrond wondered what the girl had done to implant herself so deeply inside the boy's psyche. Even Frodo hadn't had anyone implanted so deeply in him. The next picture frame was of an older man. He looked like an older version of Neji. Probably his father. Odd. Most people didn't have even a parent so ingrained in them. The last one was a blond-haired, blue eyed boy. He was wearing a bright orange jacket and Elrond noticed that he had a headband like the girl, Neji, and the older man had. What on earth had Neji been through?! Having three people implanted so deeply that they penetrated his very core meant that he had to have been through hell, or something very close to it.

The girl's voice echoed through the room, growing louder and more frantic. The longer she spoke, the brighter the room became. Soon, Elrond heard her scream something at the absolute top of her lungs. The room finally became fully visible. It wasn't as shining white as the Ringbearer's had been, but that was expected. He didn't seem as innocent as the hobbit. He had been through a lot more, or so it seemed. The boy was standing in the center of the room, face lifted toward the ceiling. His eyes were closed, and his hands were hanging limply at his sides. He turned to face Elrond and nodded silently. Neji was ready to go home. The Elf Lord walked over to the door and held it open. The boy lifted his head, squared his shoulders, and walked out. Elrond followed, closing the door behind him. He was ready to wake up.

Elrond opened his eyes, and lifted his head stiffly. To his surprise, Glorfindel was on the floor, muttering curses under his breath. The girl looked really guilty. Glorfindel had probably tried to take her out of the room, and she had fought back. She looked over at Elrond hopefully, and he nodded. Neji would be fine. The girl's face lit up. Then, she turned to Glorfindel and rested her hands on his knee. A blue light surrounded her hands for a minute, and then it faded. She held out a hand, and Glorfindel took it. She pulled him up. Elrond could see the surprise on his friend's face when he put weight on his knee and it didn't give out. The girl smiled at Glorfindel. Her eyes were slightly apologetic. Glorfindel nodded and rested one hand on her hair. She smiled again. Elrond stood, one hand going to the arm of the chair to steady himself. He was stiff beyond belief. The girl was smiling softly, and joy was practically radiating off of her. Then to the Elf Lord's shock, he felt something barrel into him. He looked down to see the girl clinging to him tightly, face pressed into his chest. Wow, she was fast.

"Reminds you of when Estel was young, doesn't it?" Glorfindel smiled. Elrond gave him a faint glare and patted the girl on the head. She let go, cheeks burning red. Obviously, she was embarrassed.

"Yes, it does. I need to go lie down." Elrond swayed slightly, exhaustion taking over. "By the way, have Estel and the others arrived?"

"A few minutes ago. Erestor's taking care of him and the hobbits. Mithrandir is here too. He's already been shown to a room. Said something about needing some wine and sleep." Glorfindel grinned at him.

"Good." He swayed slightly, and his friend gently took hold of his arm.

"Time for some sleep." Glorfindel gave the girl a smile and led the stumbling Elf Lord down the hallway to his own room. It wouldn't do to have Elrond fall asleep at the dinner table, after all.

**(Ninja POV)**

Hinata was grateful beyond measure that Neji would be okay. She looked over at his left hand. The tip of his fingers still had a very slightly purplish tinge, but that was okay. She hugged his right arm tightly, rubbing her cheek against his hand. Neji was safe, and they seemed to be with someone kind. Hinata's eyelids started to droop, and she slumped against the bed. They were safe...it would be okay if she dozed off just a little bit...Hinata dozed off, Neji's arm as a pillow.

**(Strider POV)**

Aragorn was happy beyond belief to be in Rivendell again. This place had been his home for the first twenty years of his life. The hobbits appeared a bit overwhelmed, and Sam kept bugging him about Frodo, but that was okay. Erestor was waiting for him in the kitchen when he arrived. The hobbits' eyes immediately lit up at the sight of the food.

"They're going to eat all of this, given the chance, aren't they, Estel?" He asked.

"Yes. I'd give them a little bit and then kick them out of the kitchen. It'd be best for all involved." Erestor nodded and quickly filled three plates with enormous portions.

"_Here, you three. Out of my kitchen, please._" They gave Erestor grateful smiles and fled.

"How is Frodo?" Aragorn asked, leaning on the counter. He stole a freshly-baked slice of bread off of the counter and shredded it, eating it one shred at a time.

"I believe he's fine, as is the other child. Now, stay out of my baking!" He lightly smacked Aragorn's hand and turned back to a fresh batch of dough that he was kneading.

"The other child? Hm...you think he's okay? That's good. We all owe him and the girl for saving Frodo and the hobbits."

"Hm." Erestor made a neutral noise and continued kneading his dough. Glorfindel walked into the kitchen, smiling happily.

"Hello, Estel. It's been a while since you came to visit. Erestor, Lord Elrond needs some of that tea of yours. He's tired from the healing."

"Of course," the dark-haired elf nodded and turned, leaving the new bread unguarded. Aragorn took the opportunity to purloin a few more pieces of bread.

"Estel!" Erestor turned, the tea in hand. "I told you to leave the bread alone. Since I obviously can't trust you in my kitchen, you can take the tea to Lord Elrond. And while you're doing that, you can bring this plate to the girl."

"Okay. Glorfindel, where will you be?" Aragorn took the cup and the plate from the elf.

"I'll be in the library. I want to see if I can find anything about people like the children."

"I'll find you there later, then." Aragorn nodded to the two and walked out of the kitchen. Glorfindel left as well, managing to grab some bread himself on the way out. Erestor glared and returned to kneading his dough.

"How am I supposed to get meals ready if everyone eats my food beforehand?" he muttered to himself.

A/N: Okee-dokie……………Review? Please:Puppy eyes: It would make Erestor happy!

Erestor: Don't be stupid. T.T

Me: TT.TT


	4. Knowledge

A/N: HELLO ALL! I have exams this week, and it's midnight, but you know what? I only have math left, and I can't sleep, and I was in a Naruto-ish mood. I know this took forever…….TTTT Forgive me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Or Lord of the Rings. Darn copyright laws.

**BEGINCHAPTERBEGINCHAPTER**

**(Still Aragorn's POV)**

Aragorn walked silently down the hallway. The few elves that he passed all stopped and greeted him warmly. After being raised by these elves, Aragorn was very close to most of them. Elrond's room was closer to the kitchen, so Aragorn stopped there first.

"Adar, I'm here." He said cheerfully. He was almost always happy to see his Adar, and the few times he wasn't, it was because they had just had another argument. Either way, he was happy to be with his surrogate father. Elrond sat up straight from his seat at his desk. It figured. One of the few times that Elrond could rest and he was sitting up looking over old documents.

"Hello, Estel. How are the hobbits?" He gratefully accepted the tea from Aragorn.

"Erestor gave them food." That was all that was needed for an explanation. Elrond smiled and nodded.

"Then I assume that they're fine. Frodo is fine as well." He took a sip of tea.

"And what of the other boy? And the girl?" He asked.

"The girl is perfectly fine. She's tired, which makes sense. The boy is exhausted, but I believe that he will recover. Very deeply implanted in his psyche, that girl. And two others, but they're beside the point. For future reference, the boy's name is Neji. And I was not the one to save him." Aragorn frowned.

"Then who was?" As far as Aragorn knew, his Adar was the only one at Rivendell that could save someone from Morgul poison.

"The girl. She broke through to him. Her calls brought him back." Elrond took another sip of his tea. "Those two must be very close, for her to reach him when he was as far gone as he was."

"Glorfindel went to see if he could find out anything about them in your library. I'd better go. I've been ordered by Erestor to bring the girl a plate." He held the plate up to emphasize what he was saying. Elrond nodded.

"See if you can learn her name." He said simply.

"Yes, Adar." He leaned down and gave Elrond a quick hug before leaving. The Elf Lord smiled down at his papers. It was always nice to see his adopted son.

The man walked down the hallway to the room where they probably would have put the boy. The girl, he thought, would be there too. Aragorn carefully pushed the door open and slipped in the door. The girl's head was resting on the boy's, Neji's, arm. She was fast asleep. He set the plate down on the bedside table and gently shook the girl. The food wasn't going to stay warm forever. The girl sat bolt upright, some kind of strange blade in her hands. Before Aragorn could blink, the blade was at his throat. The girl blinked at him before flushing bright red and quickly pulling her blades back. She mumbled something that sounded apologetic before sliding the weapons into a pouch that was tied onto her thigh. Aragorn picked up the plate and handed it to the girl. She took it and said something that probably meant 'thank you'. He nodded. The girl stared down at the food for a few moments before shredding a piece of bread, similar to how Aragorn himself had done it only a few minutes previously.

Aragorn watched the girl shred and devour the bread for a few minutes before he dragged a chair into the room and sat down. The girl gave him a suspicious look, but continued to eat. She was obviously hungry. Doubting that he was going to be able to get anything of her until she was finished with her food, he turned his attention to the unconscious boy. He brushed his fingers over the mark on the boy's forehead, frowning at the quiet moan that even his gentle touch provoked. What was this thing? The girl looked up, and seeing Aragorn touching the boy, swatted his hand away. He gave her an apologetic look, and her face softened slightly. She brushed her fingers over the boy's face once and returned to her food. Aragorn stayed silent for a few minutes, unsure of how to begin. It wasn't long before the girl had cleaned her plate and set it on the bedside table. Aragorn hesitated, and then lightly brushed his fingers over the boy's, Neji's, arm.

"_Neji_," Aragorn said quietly. The girl looked up at him suspiciously. He moved away from Neji and pointed to himself. "_Aragorn._"

"Ar-a-gorn," The girl said slowly, trying her best to correctly repeat the foreign name. Aragorn nodded. Pretty good for her first try. The girl gave him a gentle smile and pointed to herself. "Hinata."

"_Hin-a-ta_," Hinata nodded happily. He was right! She beamed at Aragorn, and then remembered that she was supposed to write to Tsunade once a week. Hopefully, Aragorn wouldn't mind if she wrote while he was there. The kunoichi fished the special scroll out of Neji's pack and realized that she didn't have anything to write with. She glanced at the scroll, and then back up to Aragorn. He gave her a puzzled look, but then nodded when she made a writing motion. A quill and some ink were all she needed. He rose and left to fetch what she needed. If writing would make her happy, he would let her write.

He quickly returned with an ink and quill and handed it to Hinata. She gave him a grateful smile and said something that had the distinct sound of 'thank you'. To his surprise, when she unfurled the scroll and began to write on it, the writing vanished. Also, the writing was strangely similar to Elvish, the language that Aragorn had grown up with. He couldn't recognize any of the symbols, but he could recognize the general look and strokes. Someone who didn't know Elvish would probably mistake this writing for it.

SWITCHSWITCHSWITCH

(**Hinata's POV**)

Hinata hesitantly slid the scroll off of her lap and onto the side table once it became clear that Tsunade wasn't going to respond right away. The man and girl stared at each other for a few minutes before writing appeared on the scroll. Hinata practically dove for it.

'_I'm here, Hinata. What's happened since you arrived? Did you arrive alright?_'

Hinata read over the short message before scribbling a detailed account of everything that had happened. There was no response for a few moments, and then one word.

'_Hell._' Hinata simply sighed.

'_What should we do, Tsunade-sama?'_

'_I don't know yet. You two are adaptable. You'll think of something.' _ Hinata sighed again.

'_Yes, Tsunade-sama. I'll write again when something happens.'_

'_Alright, then. Good luck.'_ Hinata folded the scroll up and replaced it in Neji's pack. Tsunade had been of absolutely no help, not that Hinata had expected all that much, but a suggestion of what to do would have been nice. Unbidden, a few tears of frustration began to well up, but Hinata swiftly brushed them away. There was no time for tears. She had to watch out for Neji until he regained his strength, and as the only conscious and able ninja, it was her duty to figure out what was going on and how the mission could be completed. Hinata stood, and was about to try and somehow ask Aragorn if there was anyone who might understand her, when suddenly there was a great whooshing noise overhead, and a loud thud outside, and Aragorn raced outside. Hinata hesitated for a moment, reluctant to leave Neji, but followed.

The girl followed the man through the winding hallways until they were where Hinata remembered waking up on the back of a horse. A number of the other kind of people (Hinata knew that they were different, chakra and ears at least, but she didn't know who they actually were) had gathered as well, searching for the source of the noise. They didn't have to look long. A huge eagle, easy large enough to bear at least two fully grown men without strain, landed in the center of courtyard. Too bad Neji nii-san wasn't awake. He would have loved this bird. As the eagle folded its wings against its sides, its passenger was revealed. An old man wearing grey robes with a grey beard and hair (lots of grey), was sitting between the bird's shoulder blades. He easily slid off, greeting the people who spoke to him cordially, although he seemed slightly flustered and rushed.

Hinata slowly inched backwards and sideways until she was partly concealed behind Aragorn, just far enough that she might not be noticed at first glance, but she was still able to watch the new man. Aragorn turned slightly to give Hinata a curious look, but she blushed and looked down at her feet. The grey man managed to make his way over to Aragorn and Hinata, immediately noticing the girl despite her attempts to make herself inconspicuous.

"Hinata," Aragorn began. She looked up at him with wide eyes as he lightly tapped the grey man's arm. "Gandalf."

"Gandalf." Hinata repeated quietly. Aragorn nodded and smiled at her, as did the grey man, Gandalf. He reminded her of Sandaime. Same aura, like he was her, and everyone else's, grandfather. Gandalf turned back to Aragorn, asking something in a worried tone. Aragorn responded, and Gandalf flinched. He said something else to Aragorn, who replied quickly, gesturing to Hinata briefly. The girl tried to melt into the ground, but remembered, for not the first time, that she didn't possess that ability, and wished passionately that she did.

SWITCHSWITCHSWITCH

**(Aragorn's POV)**

Aragorn had been amazed when Gandalf had arrived on the back of a Giant Eagle. That bird was huge, and there Hinata was, staring at the thing with a look of admiration that one was likely to find at an artist looking at their greatest masterpiece. She probably just liked birds. It had taken Gandalf a few minutes to make his way through the group of elves that had come to see what was going on, and by that time, Hinata had scooted quietly behind Aragorn, like a young child would hide behind their parent. Once Gandalf had reached them, Aragorn took it upon himself to introduce him to the girl.

"Hinata," He said quietly. Her head snapped up as he rested one hand on Gandalf's arm. "Gandalf." She repeated it slowly and hesitantly, but it was understandable enough. Aragorn gave her an encouraging smile before turning back to Gandalf.

"_How is Frodo? What happened on the way here?_" He asked.

"_We ran into the Nazgul._" Aragorn said quickly. Gandalf flinched.

"_Is Frodo alright?"_

"_He was injured by the Witch King, but I arrived right after that, and Hinata,_" he gestured to her, "_and another boy, Neji, managed to drive them off._"

"_Where is the boy?_"

"_He touched a Nazgul. He's inside, sleeping. Adar managed to heal both him and Frodo."_

_"What is that band around her neck?"_ Gandalf asked curiously.

"_I don't know. Neji wears an identical one on his forehead. It's probably some symbol of status from wherever they come from. Neither of them speak Common or Elvish._" Gandalf seemed to not hear Aragorn, though, preoccupied by Hinata's symbol.

"_I could swear that I remember seeing that before………_"

"_Gandalf, why did you arrive here on the back of a Giant Eagle that landed in the courtyard? Erestor's going to kill us if it does anything._"

"_He'd only kill you, my friend. And I must speak to Lord Elrond._" Snapped out of his knowledge-induced trance, Gandalf was back to business.

"_Adar's in his room. Why? What happened?_"

"_Later, Aragorn. And I'd recommend that you offer the poor child a bath._" Gandalf stumped into the house, leaving Aragorn and Hinata alone. The other curious elves had all gone inside already. Aragorn headed into the house, Hinata following silently behind him. He never would have noticed that she was there if he couldn't see her out of the corner of one eye. From what he could see of her, Gandalf was right. Her long hair was tangled, and she was covered in dust and dirt.

"Hinata?" He asked. She looked up at him with wide eyes. Damn, how was he supposed to phrase this? When she made a questioning noise, Aragorn simply shook his head in a 'Never mind' gesture. Hinata simply nodded and returned to looking at the floor. They walked for a few minutes, Aragorn not really sure where he was leading the girl, until Hinata quietly spoke up.

"Aragorn?" He stopped walking and turned to face her.

"_Yes?_" Hinata was blushing, and she appeared to be trying to figure out how to communicate her thoughts without words, similarly to Aragorn's predicament just a few minutes previously.

SWITCHSWITCHSWITCHSWITCH

**(Hinata's POV**)

Hinata felt her face turning red as she wondered how to convey her desire to Aragorn. All she wanted was a bath, but how did one mime that without looking perverted or idiotic? After a few seconds of awkward silence, Hinata hit on the answer. She pantomimed washing her face and then briefly pretended to scrub one arm. Aragorn nodded instantly, and she stopped. Thank god. Aragorn turned and started to walk back the way they had come, and his face showed no little amount of relief. Did she really smell that bad, and he just hadn't wanted to hurt her feelings? Or maybe he had been trying to ask if she wanted a bath, but didn't know how? Or maybe it was something else. Hinata cut off that train of thought before it lead her to completely unreasonable places. No point in thinking something completely idiotic that would have her blushing and distracted for the next hour.

The man led her back to Neji's room so she could grab her pack, and then down the hall to an empty guest room. At this point, Hinata had become concerned for Neji again. He hadn't so much as stirred when they had walked into his room, and Neji was a notoriously light sleeper. She comforted herself with the thought that Neji was just recovering, so of course he was sleeping more deeply than normal. It wasn't like Aragorn or she had made much noise while she retrieved her pack. Aragorn had left her once they had reached the room, and Hinata wandered into an adjoining room, searching for the bath. She found it without trouble. After a few minutes of experimentation, Hinata found how to make the tub fill, and sank into the hot water with a grateful sigh. Hot baths made everything better.

SWITCHSWITCHSWITCHSWITCH

**(Gandalf's POV)**

The wizard had been thoroughly distracted from his purpose at the sight of the young girl that had been hiding behind Aragorn. Her eyes had caught his attention first. At first glance, they appeared to be the solid white of a blind person, but after closer inspection, one could see that they were in fact a very pale shade of lavender. Gandalf had spoken to Aragorn, but only half-heard most of the answers, except for those regarding Frodo, who was apparently alright. Well, that was good news. There was also another boy here, who wore the same symbol as Hinata. He stared at the band intensely, trying to remember where he had seen that symbol before, since he could swear that he had. Aragorn had reminded him of what he had come to Rivendell for, and Gandalf had been forced to give up pondering Hinata for the moment. He had already spoken to Elrond about Saruman's betrayal, and had learned in turn what the elf knew of the children. Namely, nothing besides their names.

Gandalf headed to the library. Perhaps some of Elrond's older texts had references to the symbol. To his surprise, Glorfindel was in the library as well, flipping through some old history books. Gandalf had never known Glorfindel to be particularly interested in history, seeing as he had lived through most of it already.

"Hello, Glorfindel," He said sitting down in a nearby chair. The elf looked up quickly.

"Mithrandir! I didn't know you were coming!"

"Well, I'm here now. What are you researching?"

"I don't know if you've seen them already, but—" 

"The children? I've seen the girl, Hinata.**"**

**"**She's a sweet little thing. And impossibly strong and fast. She carried the boy for at least ten miles, sprinting all the way.**"**

**"**That's amazing!"

"I know. I'm trying to look through some texts to see if any of them have reference to people like them. They don't speak Elvish or Common, so I don't think they're from around here, and they don't appear to be from anywhere near Harad………but the language that they do speak sounds vaguely like Elvish, but it's just different enough that I can't understand a word."

"I came to the library for exactly the same reason. I'll help." Gandalf offered. Glorfindel's eyes lit up.

"Thank you! I've already looked through these books," He gestured to a small stack next to himself, "but Lord Elrond has so many others!" Gandalf simply laughed and began to browse through the shelves. He selected an interesting looking book that really wasn't a book. It was a long scroll that had been neatly rolled up and shelved. There was no title. When Gandalf began to look through it, he realized that it was written in Elvish, which he was completely fluent in, but there were a few words that he could swear he hadn't seen for thousands of years, namely 'shinobi', 'jutsu', and 'chakra'. As he continued reading, he saw something he recognized.

"Glorfindel! Look at this!" The elf hurried over.

"It's the symbol that's on Hinata and Neji's bands. What's it mean?" Gandalf skimmed the page, looking for an explanation.

"It's the symbol of their home village. It distinguishes them as 'shinobi'…………I remember where I saw that symbol before!"

"Where did you see it? I don't recognize it as anything I've ever seen before."

"You'll remember it when I tell you. Back before the Last Alliance, do you remember those villages of mercenaries that lived scattered around Middle Earth?"

"Not quite."

"They were renowned for having many abilities that were considered 'unnatural', and people would hire them to do any sort of job. Sauron tried to recruit the mercenaries, but for some reason, all of them said no, no matter what he offered them."

"This is starting to sound familiar."

"It should. The point is that Sauron began to eliminate all of these people. They called themselves 'shinobi'. He started to eliminate them, and as their numbers dwindled, they forgot their enmity towards each other and gathered together one last time. The leaders each had tremendous power on their own, and together they and all their people vanished." Glorfindel blinked a few times.

"They went into hiding?"

"No. When I say they vanished, I mean they literally vanished off of the face of Middle Earth. No shinobi have been seen since. Neji and Hinata must have come from wherever the shinobi leaders took their people for safety. The symbol on their headbands is the same symbol that belonged to one of the villages then."

"………Why couldn't you remember that?"

"I had more important things to be focusing on than long-gone civilizations, Master Elf!" Glorfindel smirked and continued to skim the page.

"Look here. This looks like a dictionary." Glorfindel pointed at the bottom of the page, and indeed, there were three columns of words, written in Elvish, Common, and what appeared to be the shinobi language. "We should give this to Hinata. She should probably learn Common."

"Probably. I'll take it to her. I'd like to get a look at Neji, and visit Frodo too." Gandalf rolled the scroll up again and set off, bidding Glorfindel goodbye. The elf turned back to the stacks of books and looked at the mess that he had created.

"Erestor's going to kill me."

SWITCHSWITCHSWITCHSWITCH

**(Hinata's POV)**

Hinata had dressed herself in the one formal yukata that she had brought with her. She had taken the opportunity to hide several weapons in the sleeves and on her person. After a few minutes of internal debate, she had also strapped her katana quite visibly on her back. It never hurt to appear slightly threatening. Well, in some cases it did, but Hinata didn't think this one counted. She had been standing on the small balcony connecting to her room when someone knocked on her door. The girl quickly padded over to it and opened it, revealing Gandalf, who was holding a scroll. He held it out to her.

"Thank you," Hinata said quietly, knowing that he couldn't understand her, but wanting to say it anyway. The man nodded, and Hinata unrolled the scroll. She almost dropped it in surprise at what she saw. It was a dictionary! Hinata quickly read through the lists of words, stopping at the word 'cousin'. It read that a cousin was the child of a parent's sibling. Hinata pointed at it. "Neji." She said clearly. "_Cousin._" Gandalf smiled. Her pronunciation was horrible.

"_Cousin._" He said for her. Hinata blinked a few times, realized what she had done, blushed faintly in embarrassment, and repeated the word, this time without butchering the pronunciation. She continued to look down the words and pointed to three more words.

"_Father. Uncle. Twins._" Gandalf repeated them for her, and Hinata said them again, this time more properly. She glanced back down at the list. "_Thank you, _oji-san." Gandalf blinked. Hinata pointed proudly to another word on the list, which Gandalf quietly took from her. Oji-san meant old man, or grandfather. It was a respectful term, and Hinata obviously liked it as a term for him, so Gandalf wasn't going to object.

"_You're welcome._" He told her. Hinata beamed at him and took the list back.

"Neji nii-san um……………_good?_" Gandalf read down the columns and found nii-san. Older brother. Interesting.

"_He is alright._" Gandalf said slowly, giving Hinata time to desperately read down the list and translate what he was saying. Hinata's face lit up, and she glanced at the words before speaking.

"_When Neji wake?_"

"_When will Neji wake up?_" Hinata considered this version, and nodded. "_In a few days._"

"_Little people alright?"_ Hinata asked, holding her hand out at about chest level to demonstrate what she meant.

"_Hobbits._" Gandalf told her. Hinata repeated it, frowned, and then tried it again. She was much better the second time. Hinata rolled up the scroll and slid it into a pocket that was hidden in her sleeve. She started to walk out the door, before turning back to Gandalf. Would he like to come see Neji with her?

"Oji-san _see Neji?"_ Gandalf simply nodded and followed her down the hallways until Hinata slipped into Neji's room and sat on the edge of his bed.

SWITCHSWITCHSWITCHSWITCH

**(Gandalf's POV)**

He was very surprised that Hinata had asked if he wanted to accompany her to visit her cousin, but had accepted all the same. That had been part of the reason that he had brought her the scroll anyway. When they had reached Neji's room and gone in, Gandalf could instantly see the family resemblance between Neji and Hinata. The same band that was around Hinata's neck was on the nightstand, but there was another symbol on Neji's forehead. Gandalf walked around Neji's bed to study it, stopping by the boy's head. The symbol was written in green, and appeared to be a brand or tattoo. It was odd looking, and he noticed how as he drew closer to it, Hinata tensed, as if she was preparing to leap at him. Gandalf moved back, and Hinata relaxed.

The wizard was just about to leave the cousins alone when he heard a faint groan from the bed. Hinata's eyes grew larger and lit up with excitement. Silence fell over the room again, and Gandalf was about to leave again, thinking that Neji was just dreaming, when the boy's eyes fluttered open.

SWITCHSWITCHSWITCHSWITCH

**(Neji's POV)**

Neji felt his head and left hand throbbing as he woke. What had happened to him? His eyes opened, and almost instantly, something had tackled him a tight hug. Once his eyes had focused a bit more, he could recognize the thing hugging him as Hinata.

"Hinata-sama?" He asked hesitantly. She released him and sat back.

"How do you feel, nii-san?"

"I'm not sure yet. Where are we? What happened?" Hinata frowned slightly.

"You don't remember what happened? Those black cloaked creatures?" Neji winced. He remembered now.

"Now I do. Where are we?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but there are different people here! There's a kind of people that have pure white chakra and pointed ears, and there's the little people that we brought with us, and there's the man that came with us, his name is Aragorn, and there's him over there," Hinata gestured subtly toward Gandalf. "His name is Gandalf." Neji blinked a few times. Since when did Hinata chatter like that?

"So you don't know where we are?"

"Not yet. But Gandalf gave me this!" Hinata pulled the scroll out of her sleeve and showed it to Neji, who carefully unrolled it.

"This is interesting. I don't know what all of this says," Neji tapped the top portion of the scroll, "but this is useful." He gestured to the bottom.

"I know! I'm starting to learn this language." Hinata pointed at the column of Common.

"How long was I unconscious?"

"A few hours."

"Ah." Neji looked down at himself. "I feel filthy." Hinata giggled.

"How's your hand?"

"Sore, but I think it'll be alright." Neji flexed it experimentally. The tips of his fingers were still slightly purple, as if he had cut off circulation. He looked up at Gandalf and bowed slightly from his seated position, trying to convey some slight respect. Gandalf nodded to him. Neji turned back to Hinata. "Am I allowed to get up?"

"There's no reason that I know of why you can't." Neji nodded and carefully slid out of the bed, standing gingerly, as if he expected his legs to give out…………which they did. Gandalf started forward, but Hinata was faster. She caught Neji and helped him get back onto the bed.

"That hurt," Neji commented blandly. He glared at his legs.

"Nii-san, are you alright? Does anything hurt besides your legs?" Hinata asked, looking him over with the easy expertise of a medic nin.

"My head and left hand are throbbing." Hinata placed her hand on Neji's forehead and gently channeled chakra through it, being cautious not to activate the curse mark by accident. Her cousin hissed quietly, even Hinata's careful touch causing him pain.

"I'm sorry, nii-san." Neji responded with a faint sigh as the pain slowly eased. "Is that better?" He nodded and closed his eyes. Hinata released his head and gently moved her hands down to cradle his throbbing left hand. When she started to channel chakra into his hand, however, Neji tensed, biting down on his lip hard enough to draw blood.

"Hinata-sama," Neji managed to grit out through clenched teeth. His cousin looked up at him and instantly froze.

"Nii-san, I'm sorry!" She stopped channeling chakra, and with a faint shudder, Neji fell onto his side on the bed, left arm cradled against his chest. Gandalf stepped forward and carefully took hold of Neji's left hand. The boy watched him suspiciously through half-lidded eyes, and Hinata moved to Gandalf's other side to better see what he was doing. He examined Neji's hand for a few minutes, inspecting it from different angles and such before he released it. Neji let his hand fall limply onto the bed, still watching Gandalf, who turned to Hinata.

"_He needs rest._" The old man said slowly. Hinata scrambled for the scroll, almost ripping it in her hurry to unfurl it and figure out what he was saying. Gandalf carefully repeated himself for the girl as she read down the lists of words, studying each pronunciation key to figure out which definition to look at. Gandalf took pity on her and pointed at the words. Hinata blushed and read the explanation before turning to Neji.

"He says that you need to sleep some more. I don't know what that thing was. It must have been poisoned or something to do this to you." As she spoke, Hinata had gently helped her cousin get back under the covers, and she could tell that by the end of her explanation, Neji was already asleep again. The girl kissed him gently on the forehead before straightening and adjusting the blankets mechanically. Hopefully Neji would be better soon, and maybe Hinata would even have time to figure out what the thing was that had done this to her cousin. Not that Neji hadn't had worse than this (probably), he had, but with the two of them in some strange new place that neither had heard of before this mission, Hinata wanted Neji up and able to fight.

The girl took a deep breath to calm herself so she could think. They were in some strange place, Neji was incapacitated, unable to even stand, Tsunade had no idea what was wrong, and Hinata was only just learning to speak the language. Well, there were worse situations. Hinata just couldn't think of any at that moment. At least the strangers didn't seem hostile. They were pretty nice, actually. She bit her lip as she thought, staring down at her cousin's sleeping form before turning to Gandalf and, after quickly checking the scroll, spoke.

"_Show me house?_"

ENDCHAPTERENDCHAPTER

Review? Please? It took me forever to write this. ::puppy eyes::


	5. Small Steps

A/N: I'M SORRY

A/N: I'M SORRY! I KNOW THIS TOOK FOREVER! Y.Y Life decided to interfere, involving school, colds/allergies/the flu, and the death of a family friend. I don't even really like the way this chapter came out…but I think it kind of sets up some stuff for later, so I guess it's okay…oh, before I forget, I current have a poll going in my profile for something later in this story. If you haven't already, go and vote. I'll be using the results soon…so… vote? I'll shut up now.

**Disclaimer**: Overlyinspired does not own Naruto or Lord of the Rings. She does own an Itachi and Gaara plushie, though.

STARTCHAPTERSTARTCHAPTER

**(Hinata's POV)**

Hinata had been completely enthralled by the gardens that Gandalf had showed her. They were beautiful, obviously much-loved and well-tended to. Her first action, much to Gandalf's amusement, had been to scramble up the nearest tree and perch on a branch that was covered with pretty white blooms. She had blushed upon realizing what she had done and slid back out of the tree. Her scroll had been brought out and Hinata searched for the word she was looking for.

"_Sorry_," Gandalf had simply laughed and assured her that it was fine. Hinata had been grateful for his distinct lack of anger and had beamed up at him before giggling as she realized that in her hurry to get out of the tree, she had dislodged many flowers, which had fluttered down on the man in a shower of white, landing on his hat and in his hair and beard.

The old man had taken a few moments to figure out what had made Hinata laugh, but once he had, he seemed very amused himself as he brushed the flowers off of himself. He led her through numerous gardens, and then through a number of rooms. This place was big enough that Hinata was sure that she was going to be hopelessly lost within minutes. She also couldn't ask for directions due to the language barrier. Well, that certainly insured that she wasn't going to go wandering anywhere on her own anytime soon. Neji was always better at directions that she was. It would have been helpful to have him awake.

"_I…lost?_" She offered tentatively.

"_It will get easier,_" Gandalf reassured her. Hinata nodded. It probably would, given enough time and help. Especially the help. The next room that Gandalf led Hinata into had her entranced. The library, even if she couldn't read a word that it was in any of the texts, was large enough that she could appreciate the time and effort that must have gone into compiling it. Hinata wandered over to a nearby shelf and carefully pulled a leather-bound book down. When Hinata opened it, she saw a picture of the man that had led Neji and herself to this place confronting a gigantic shadow covered in flames. Gandalf walked over to stand behind her and pointed at the figure in the book. "_Glorfindel._"

"_Bring here._" Hinata said quietly. It took Gandalf a few moments to register what she was saying. He brought Neji and Hinata to Rivendell. He was brought back to reality when Hinata pointed at the large shadow and made a questioning sound.

"_Balrog._" Hinata shivered. The name itself sent a chill down her spine.

"_Bad._" She said firmly. Gandalf nodded and watched as Hinata closed and put the book back on the shelf. She followed him out of the room and down one of many hallways, hiding behind Gandalf every time anyone walked by. She received me than a few amused looks, but thankfully no one attempted to try and talk to her. When Hinata was sure that no one else was around, she mustered up the courage to try and speak again. "_People…not…same?"_ She offered. Gandalf stopped mid-step to stare at her and try to piece together what Hinata had just said as the girl struggled to find another way to phrase her question. "_Not…like…Aragorn. Like…um…Glor-fin-del._" Gandalf realized what she was trying to ask.

"_Aragorn-human. Glorfindel-elf._" Hinata bit her lip for a moment as she tried to memorize what Gandalf had said.

Gandalf continued to lead the girl down the halls until they reached one of the most revered rooms of Rivendell, the hall of Isildur's sword. Hinata immediately was drawn to the painted scenes on the walls. Gandalf noticed that she actually ignored the broken sword and was examining the pictures, obviously trying to figure out what the scenes were. The first picture that Hinata went up to was the Fall of Sauron.

"_Who?_" The girl asked, pointing at the figure of Sauron in the painting.

"_Sauron._"

"_Happen?_" Hinata asked, not knowing how to really ask 'What happened?'. Gandalf considered Hinata for a moment, trying to figure out how he could tell her the whole complicated story with her limited language skills. Then, he suddenly hit on an idea. Gandalf beckoned to Hinata to follow him onto the balcony. Gandalf's talents lay in smoke and flame, and if could use his talents appropriately, it would be relatively simple to tell Hinata the story. The girl followed, slightly confused as to what Gandalf was going to do, but trusting him. Out on the balcony, Gandalf pulled his pipe out of its compartment on his staff and carefully lit it, being especially cautious not to let any ash or embers fall onto the balcony or the gardens below. Elrond would have his head if that happened.

Hinata watched Gandalf patiently, obviously curious, but content to wait for her answer. She knew it was coming. After a few minutes, Gandalf puffed a few rings of smoke out into the open air. Hinata continued to watch as the rings reformed themselves into a landscape. There was a large mountain in the center, and two armies, one at the base of the mountain and one attacking.

"_Who?_" Hinata asked, pointing at the armies. Gandalf carefully enlarged a few of the main figures from each side. Hinata picked out Glorfindel, Elrond, and some strange man that she didn't recognize. On the other, there was the large figure that Gandalf had told her was Sauron. The old man pointed to the strange man.

"_Elendil._" Hinata nodded as Gandalf shrunk the smoke figures back down to fit in their armies, with Elrond, Glorfindel, and Elendil among their soldiers, and Sauron way behind his own fighters. He gestured to the large mountain, "_Mount Doom," _and then to the flat plain where the army of elves and humans stood. "_Dagorlad_._" _Hinata nodded and leaned on the balcony, watching as Gandalf blew a few more smoke rings that shifted into more soldiers for the armies, and gestured. The armies surged to life, and Hinata was both entranced by the grace of the elves and horrified by the creatures in Sauron's army.

"_What…?_" Hinata pointed to Sauron's army, both at the human-sized ones and the larger creatures that were more than twice the size of any human. Gandalf paused the movement and enlarged one of each. Hinata cringed away from the creatures, who were both hideously deformed. The little one looked clever and cruel, with no possible speck of good in its withered soul. The larger simply looked like a dumb beast that had been trained to fight and kill, like a warhorse, but with no gentleness at all left.

"_Orc. Troll_." Hinata shuddered and nodded., watching intently as Gandalf shrunk the creatures and began the battle again. After a few minutes of fighting, during which the orcs and trolls were pushed back, the tall figure of Sauron forced his way through his army and to the front lines. He swung his weapon, it looked like some sort of mace, left and right, sending dozens of soldiers flying. Hinata watched, mesmerized by the scene playing out in front of her. Sauron suddenly grabbed someone by the throat and lifted them. Hinata could tell it was an elf, but she couldn't recognize the person.

"_Who?….Dead…_" Hinata looked briefly at her list to find the word. "_Kill…_"

"_Gil-Galad. King._" Gandalf said quietly. The figure of Gil-Galad burst into flame in Sauron's grip, making Hinata gasp in horror. Elendil, the human Gandalf had pointed out earlier, gave a battle cry and lunged at Sauron, sword extended. Sauron slammed the man into a rock. It was clear that Elendil was dying. Another man emerged from the crowd and ran to Elendil's side, crouching beside him. "_Isildur. Son. Prince._" Hinata nodded, looking sad.

Isildur tried to grab the blade that had fallen from his father's hand, but Sauron stepped on it, and the blade broke into fragments. Desperate, as Sauron reached toward him getting ready to kill the prince, Isildur snatched up the hilt and the fragment of blade still attached to it and slashed at Sauron's hand. Several of his fingers were severed, and the creature gave an unearthly scream, falling back. The fingers landed on the ground, and Hinata saw that one of the digits had a gold ring on it with some form of writing on it. Isildur picked up the finger, and it, along with the rest of Sauron's body, crumpled into dust, leaving the prince with the ring.

"_Wow._" Hinata said simply, still staring. Gandalf smiled at her, but he wasn't done yet. The armies vanished, replaced by a picture of Elrond, in full armor, pulling Isildur to his feet and up the mountainside. They ran into a passageway into the mountain, and onto a cliff that jutted out over a bubbling pit of lava.

"_Isildur!_" The smoke figure of Elrond yelled, "_Isildur, destroy it!_" Gandalf paused it for a moment so Hinata could look up the words in her list before looking up and nodding. Isildur looked down at the ring that he was holding, and then back up at Elrond.

"_No._" And with that, he turned and left. Elrond stood, frozen, looking horrified.

"_ISILDUR!_"

"_Oh no…_" Hinata murmured. Gandalf nodded and waved his hands. The smoke reformed itself into another scene. Now, Isildur and a bunch of other soldiers were traveling on horseback along a riverbank. Isildur was wearing the ring on a chain around his neck. The horses suddenly froze, and the humans looked around. Suddenly, a mob of orcs leapt out of the trees, knocking a number of people, including Isildur, off of their horses.

As Isildur's men fought, Isildur himself ran away from the fray and down to the river. Hinata hissed in disdain for any commander who would abandon his men. Gandalf nodded, but gestured for Hinata to watch. This was important. Isildur broke the chain around his neck and slipped the ring onto his finger. Without any warning or noise, Isildur vanished. Hinata squeaked in shock, both hands over her mouth as she watched. The almost silent sound of footsteps was the only indicator as to where Isildur was. The footsteps ended with a splash as the invisible man plunged into the smoke river. The ripples continued to give away his position to Hinata, and apparently to the orcs as well, as a few archers rushed to the river, searching for the source. Suddenly, Isildur reappeared. It was certainly not by his own choice, as he was searching for something in the water. The orcs saw him first, though. A moment later, the smoke figure of Isildur was floating face down, three arrows in his back.

The ring settled on the bottom of the river, and Gandalf made the picture dissipate. It swirled for awhile before resettling into a picture of a demented creature holding the ring and whispering to it. Hinata took a step back, openly horrified. The creature looked up at Hinata and hissed, its pale eyes staring through her.

"_Gollum,_" Gandalf said sadly. Hinata nodded, still staring. The picture dissolved and reformed into a small creature like the ones that had traveled with Aragorn, Neji, and herself to get to where they were now. The little person, a hobbit, she reminded herself, was in what appeared to be a dark cavern. It bent down and picked something up from among the rocks. It was the ring.

"_Who?"_

"_Bilbo Baggins._" The picture swirled again and, again, it reformed into someone else. This time, it was the hobbit that had been injured. "_Frodo Baggins,_" Gandalf said. Hinata blinked.

"_Same…name?_" Gandalf paused.

"_Same family name._" Hinata frowned in thought. Family names went first…unless, well, Hinata guessed she shouldn't have been too surprised that it was different here. She nodded and let Gandalf continue. Hinata was going to have to tell Neji about that when he woke up.

"_How…family?_" The girl asked. "_Frodo…nephew?_" Gandalf considered his answer. In all technicality, Bilbo and Frodo were distant cousins. In reality, Frodo called Bilbo his uncle so….sure. He nodded. Hinata beamed. The wizard formed the smoke into the scene of Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin fleeing the Shire. The ring was visible on a chain around Frodo's neck.

"_You saw the rest,_" He told the girl. She nodded and went back into the room to look at the pictures again, this time with a more educated eye. She looked from the picture to the fragments of sword being held by a statue before pointing to both.

"_Same?_" Gandalf nodded. "_Old?_" He nodded again. Hinata let her fingers brush the hilt of the blade. "_Can I hold?_" Gandalf hesitated, watching her, but he figured that some of the people that had once held the blade would treat it with less respect than Hinata would.

"_You may,_" Hinata smiled at him before reverently picking up the hilt, turning it this way and that to examine it. She touched the tip of the fragment and yelped.

"_Ouch,_" She mumbled, sticking her sliced finger into her mouth. Gandalf chuckled and took the blade from her, placing it back in the statue's hands.

"_Are you hungry?_" The wizard asked Hinata. She stared blankly at him for a moment, finger still in her mouth, before scrambling to open her scroll.

"_With other people?_" She asked cautiously.

"_No,_" Gandalf said. He wouldn't subject the poor girl to eating with all of the inhabitants of Rivendell all at once, especially not Elrond's hell-raising twins. It would be simpler to take her to Erestor, who oversaw dinner in the kitchen, and let her eat there.

Erestor was very busy at the moment that Gandalf and Hinata walked in. He was easily ordering several others around as he himself furiously chopped some innocent vegetable. Gandalf could tell he was muttering something about 'large banquets for some Valar-forsaken council'. He hoped Erestor wouldn't vent on Hinata. She gave off the impression that she would probably burst into tears. Contrary to his expectations, however, The girl pulled a band off of her wrist and tied her long hair back into a messy bun before carefully stepping up to Erestor. The elf turned to look at her.

"_Can I help you with something?_" He asked, shoving whatever he had been chopping into a pot of boiling water.

"_I…help?_" Hinata offered, shoving her sleeves up. Erestor blinked at her in surprise.

"_Cut these,_" The elf shoved a large platter of carrots toward her along with a long knife. "_Mithrandir, how can I help you?_"

"_I was just escorting Hinata. If I'm not needed, I have some other affairs to see to,_" Gandalf nodded to Hinata, who smiled at him before returning to chopping the carrots. He left the kitchens swiftly. He had some studying to do before the council, and hopefully he could avoid some of the commotion until the main meal with all of the dignitaries. Hopefully the Valar would pity him and keep the elves and dwarves at opposite ends of the table.

Back in the kitchens, Hinata was actually entertained by all the hustle and bustle going on around her. She had often helped with meals at home when she wanted to avoid her father, and she had been the cook on missions with her team. When Shino cooked, bugs tended to find their way into the food, and when Kiba cooked…no one knew what could come of it. Besides, Erestor was teaching her their language as pertaining to cooking ingredients and tools as they went. She didn't know if he was doing it on purpose, but he was a really good teacher.

"_What I do now?_" Hinata asked once she was finished with the carrots.

"_Stir this,_" Erestor ordered, shoving a wooden spoon into her hand and pointing to a giant pot of soup. Hinata blinked for a moment, as the word wasn't on her list, but Erestor quickly demonstrated for her before moving on to lecture someone else. Hinata watched him go for a moment before starting to complete his order. Something told her it was best to not to anger Erestor. He seemed stressed enough already.

Some other elf came over and relieved Hinata of the spoon, pointing her in the direction of someone else that was making bread. She made her way across the kitchen, dodging hurrying people as she went and almost getting various hot liquids spilled on her a number of times. She quickly decided that it was easier to use the ceiling, and proceeded to do so, clinging with chakra. Hinata didn't notice the stares until she was back on the floor, and then she proceeded to turn such a bright shade of red that the elf she was standing beside rested a hand on her forehead as if to check for a fever.

"_Um…um…,_" Hinata could only cover her face with her hands, hoping that she could turn invisible. It never worked, but Hinata figured it could never hurt to try. It was Erestor who rescued her. He had told her his name during a time when a pot of water had boiled over and she had gone over to help him contain it.

"_Alright, enough, back to work,_" He snapped. The elves all scampered back to work. The elf that had checked Hinata for fever offered her a smile as he pushed the dough for a loaf of bread down the counter to her.

_"I am Melimion,_" He told her.

"_I am Hinata,_" She said, offering him a smile of her own. His hair was long and dark, but his eyes were a pretty shade of light blue. Nowhere near Naruto's cerulean, of course, but still pretty.

"_Where are you from?_" Melimion asked as he pounded the dough. Hinata paused for a moment, lips pursed as she thought. How to answer? She had understood the question, although she could tell that the elf was starting to wonder if she hadn't.

"_Konoha,_" She finally said quietly. Melimion tilted his head curiously.

"_I have never heard of such a place,_" Hinata blinked at him in a clear sign of 'huh'? She hadn't learned that much from her scroll yet!

"_I…learning…_" She finally offered. Melimion nodded, understanding filling his eyes.

"_Ah. I see._" Hinata pounded the dough a little harder than was probably needed in frustration. It was bad enough that at home, she wouldn't speak, which she was trying to get over. Here she couldn't speak, and what little of the language she knew, she didn't want to try because she knew that she wasn't speaking correctly. She probably sounded like a toddler to these people! "_You speak well for a student,_" Melimion said in an attempt to encourage her. Hinata blinked at him. She couldn't understand the exact words, but she recognized the tone as one of comfort and encouragement. Kurenai-sensei used that tone often enough with her.

"_I…good?" _She asked timidly. The elf nodded, smiling. Hinata beamed, barely noticing when Erestor swept up behind her.

"_Hinata,_" He said firmly. She turned.

"_What…I…do?_"

"_Cut,_" He said, pushing a knife into her hands and placing a number of loaves of already baked loaves of bread in front of her. The girl nodded, falling into the easy rhythm of slicing. Melimion grabbed a knife of his own and began to help.

"_Me-li-mi-on?"_ Hinata asked.

"_Yes?_" He looked up at her.

"_Why…noise?_" She gestured vaguely out at all the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. "_People. Lot."_ Melimion looked around the kitchen at everyone trying to finish their jobs under Erestor's hawk-like gaze.

_"New people. Important,_" He watched as she furrowed her brow in frustration and unraveled her scroll to look up the word.

"_Oh. Many?_" She asked.

"_Yes._"

"_Why come?_"

"…_You heard about the ring?"_ Melimion asked after a moment.

"_Bad. Sau-ron,_"

"_It is here._"

"_Hobbit have it._" Hinata agreed, pausing for a second to push up her sleeves again. It probably hadn't been the best idea to come to help in a kitchen wearing her formal outfit with her katana on her back. Melimion nodded and popped a piece of bread into his mouth.

"_Melimion, stop eating the bread,_" Erestor snapped, whacking the back of the elf's head with a clean wooden spoon. "_Estel and Glorfindel do that enough without your assistance._" Melimion snickered.

"_Yes, Erestor,_" Hinata watched the exchange with some amusement. These two reminded her of Neji and Naruto. Too bad Neji himself wasn't here to see this. He would probably like Erestor. Once all the food was prepared, Hinata went over to Erestor, pulling her hair out of the bun.

"_I help bring food?_" The elf blinked at her.

"_You want to?_"

"_Yes! Please? I will be good!_" Erestor rolled his eyes.

"_Who am I to refuse extra help? Help Melimion._" Hinata didn't understand the first sentence, but she understood 'help' and 'Melimion'.

"_Thank you!_" she beamed, unrolling her sleeves and running her hands through her hair once to untangle it. Melimion took over smoothing her hair and stepped back as she tied it up in a tight low ponytail. He handed her a platter of bread and picked up a platter of meat.

"_Let's go._" He led her out of the kitchen and down a small hallway, emerging into a large banquet hall that was filled with people. Hinata turned an interesting shade of red and darted behind the elf, clutching her platter in a death grip. She hadn't thought that there'd be so many people! Even worse, all of them had turned toward Melimion, the other servers, and herself.

"_People…_" Hinata whimpered faintly. Melimion glanced down at the girl.

"_It's alright. Come on." _He managed to hold the platter in one hand and patted Hinata on the head. Hinata meekly followed the elf toward the table, trying, and failing, to look completely inconspicuous. She watched the table through her bangs, taking note of Lord Elrond. Hinata was nervous to see that there were a number of other people around Lord Elrond, and a few of them looked to be human, like herself. One of them, a strongly-built young man, probably in his twenties, looked up at her and frowned.

"_Lord Elrond, may I ask why you have a young human girl here?_" He asked. Hinata blushed, having recognized the sentence as referring to herself, and wishing that they wouldn't talk about her like she wasn't here. "_Girl, what's your name?_" Hinata blinked a couple of time before realizing that the question was directed at her. The man was looking expectantly at her, and Hinata didn't even know what he had asked. A number of people were regarding Hinata now, waiting for an answer. Hinata felt her cheeks light up in a flare of crimson that she had been trying to control for years. She hadn't succeeded yet. The stares were only increasing, and Hinata felt tears of mortification and embarrassment starting to well up.

"_R…r…r…r…repeat…s…sl…slowly…p…pl…please,"_ Hinata stammered. She barely noticed that Melimion had taken the platter from her. She did notice that now her hands were free to bring to her mouth, and she promptly began to nibble on her right thumb nail.

"_Do you not understand Common, girl?_" The man demanded. Hinata whimpered, flinching instinctively. She felt someone's arm slide around her shoulders.

"_My Lord Elrond, may I bring Hinata back to the kitchens? She is a bit unnerved by the attention,_" Elrond nodded.

"_Of course._" He gave Hinata a kind smile that did nothing to alleviate her humiliation as Melimion led her back down the hallway.

"_Why do you have a human girl here?_"

"_Her name is Hinata, Lord Boromir. She assisted in delivering the ring along with her cousin. Her cousin was badly injured. She is not from anywhere I've ever heard of before, and she does not speak Common. She's learning._" Elrond said, watching Boromir carefully. Aragorn, who had been placed two seats down from Boromir, watched him and his foster father. He remembered when Boromir had been a little child, and Aragorn had been Thorongil to him, or just 'Gil'. This Boromir was almost nothing like the innocent child that he remembered. This Boromir was…cold.

Upon reaching the kitchen, Hinata had been placed in a corner on a convenient stool as Melimion had been harangued by Erestor, and then shoved back out of the room with another platter. Hinata would have been disturbed, if she hadn't recognized the lack of real anger in Erestor's voice and body posture. He was just stressed, but he did pause beside her long enough to give Hinata a cup full of water and a full plate of food.

"_Thank you,_" She murmured. Erestor patted her on the head before moving on. Hinata poked at her food miserably, sniffling. She wanted Neji to wake up. About ten minutes later, Melimion arrived, obviously done delivering the door. He sat down beside her.

"_You haven't eaten anything,_"

"_I not hungry,_" She said, beginning to nudge the food around her plate with her fork. Melimion pulled the plate away from her, placing it on a nearby table.

"_What do you want to do?_" Hinata blinked at him.

"_I…want…um…I want to learn,_" The girl said, beginning to nibble on her thumb nail again. Melimion pulled it away from her mouth.

"_I can teach you._" Her eyes lit up.

"_R…r…really? T…thank y…you._"

"_It would be an honor,_" He smiled at her reassuringly, managing to get the faintest hint of a giggle in return. Hinata yawned quietly, blushing. "_Would you like me to take you back to your room?_" Hinata thought about it, considered the winding hallways that she had traveled through, and nodded, beginning to nibble on her thumb nail again. Melimion stood and offered Hinata a hand. She took it and allowed herself to be led through the hallways until they reached her room, at which point Melimion said good night and left. Hinata changed into more casual clothes to sleep in and stuck her head out of her room, looking back and forth to make sure there was no one around. Hinata didn't want to sleep by herself. She wanted to stay with Neji. Before anyone could come around the corners, Hinata dashed down the hallway and into Neji's room, closing the door behind her.

Neji was still asleep or unconscious in the position that he had been when Hinata had left him. She stood over him for a moment, noting how still and limp he was. Neji never looked like this when he slept regularly. He was always tense and restless, barely ever staying in the same position for more than ten minutes. He looked so vulnerable, laying there. He looked a lot like he had when Hinata had seen him in the hospital after his almost-fatal fight with Kidomaru. Hinata hesitated for a moment before sliding into the bed beside her cousin, curling up in a warm ball against Neji's back. The blankets were light-weight but warm, and the way she was facing, Hinata could see through a large window and into the gardens. They were beautiful by moonlight. Neji suddenly stirred against her back, rolling onto his other side so Hinata could feel his breath on the back of her head. Hinata closed her eyes with a smile as Neji moved again, flipping onto his other side. Things were even better than she thought they could be.

ENDCHAPTERENDCHAPTERENDCHAPTER

A/N:……..So……..what do you think?


	6. Demonstration

_A/N:….All I can say for myself is that I have the attention span of a brain-dead goldfish. Sorry. TT.TT_

_Disclaimer: No own._

_Ninja language- "English"_

_Common Tongue- "__English_"

Elvish- "English"

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When Hinata woke up, the first thing she noticed was that the pattern of Neji's breathing against her back had changed. It wasn't the steady slow breaths of Neji when he was asleep. Also, he was lying still, which he almost never did when he was asleep. The girl sat up and turned to look at her cousin. Neji's eyes were open, and he was watching her steadily.

"Nii-san!" Hinata promptly hugged him as tightly as she could. "You're awake!"

"I had noticed that," Neji said breathlessly. Hinata had knocked the wind out of him with her sudden hug.

"How do you feel?" She asked, pulling away.

"Fine," Neji sat up, legs crossed. He began to run the fingers of his good hand through his hair in an attempt to somewhat deal with the tangle. "My hand is stiff, but it doesn't hurt as much as it did,"

"Let me see," Hinata gently lifted her cousin's left hand to examine it. "Make a fist, please," Neji obeyed. "No pain in doing that?"

"A little, but not much," Hinata activated her Byakugan to look at it more closely. The purple chakra that had been consuming his fingers was still there, but it was much fainter.

"Can you channel chakra through your hand?" Neji flexed his hand again, and the bright blue of chakra traveled down his arm. He hesitated a moment before forcing it into his hand. Neji flinched slightly, but his chakra settled easily.

"Yes."

"But it hurts," Hinata said.

"Slightly. Not badly," He turned and carefully slid out of the bed. His legs shook slightly, but he stayed upright.

"You feel alright?" She asked.

"Yes. Just stiff because I've been lying in a bed for two days," Neji looked down at himself. "I need a bath," Hinata giggled, pointing toward the bathroom and holding up Neji's pack and headband. Neji took them and vanished through the door, leaving Hinata alone.

Devoid of anything else to do, Hinata wandered around the room, tidying things up and making the bed. Once that was finished, Hinata wandered onto the balcony to look over the gardens. They were even prettier in the early morning light than they had been the day before. She resisted the temptation to hop over the railing and walk through them. There was no way that Hinata would leave Neji alone in a strange place like this, especially when he was recovering from an injury.

Someone knocked on the door, and Hinata wandered over to answer it. When she opened the door, Elrond was standing there, looking not particularly surprised to see her in Neji's room. The man glanced over at the bed, and then his face showed surprise.

"_Where is Neji?_" Elrond asked. Hinata blinked at him for a moment, trying to understand. It finally clicked.

"_Neji is…_" Hinata pointed at the door to the bathroom.

"_He could walk?_" Elrond frowned thoughtfully. If it was true, and Neji was fully recovered, then he would have the fastest recovery from a Nazgul wound ever recorded.

"_Neji walk, yes,_" Hinata said. She tilted her head to one side like a curious sparrow. "_Not good?_" Elrond quickly shook his head.

"_It's fine,_" Neji walked out of the bathroom suddenly, fully dressed, hair tie held in his teeth as he finished getting the knots out of his hair. His eyes flicked between Hinata and Elrond, and he sat silently on the edge of the bed, continuing to stare.

"Who is he?" Neji asked Hinata once he had pulled the hair tie out of his mouth.

"Elrond. This is his house, or kingdom, I guess. He healed you," Neji eyed Elrond appraisingly before standing and bowing. He stepped sideways to stand slightly in front of Hinata. The strength in Neji's eyes was just as evident in his actual body as it had been when Elrond had seen him in his core.

"_Would you like to go to breakfast now?_" Elrond asked, mainly directing his words to Hinata since he knew that Neji wouldn't know what he was saying. He stood patiently as she went through her scroll. Neji leaned over to read it too.

"What is this?" Neji asked.

"It's a list of some of the words in their language so we can learn it."

"Obviously. I was looking for a name of their language, but it appears it either isn't here or we can't read it. What did he just ask?"

"He wanted to know if we wanted to…," Hinata finally found the word 'breakfast' on the paper, "go eat breakfast." She looked up at Elrond. "_Yes, please,_" Hinata looked down at herself, suddenly remembering that she had yet to get dressed, and was only wearing the loose pants and top that she slept in. "_…One moment,_" She slipped out of the room and back down the hall to her own room, where she was supposed to have been sleeping the night before. Neji and Elrond were left to stand in the hallway, staring at each other. Neji's face was wary, and his hand kept drifting toward the sword that he had strapped to his back.

"_I will not hurt you,_" Elrond said slowly. He made sure to keep his hands in full view and his movements slow. He didn't know what Neji would do if he thought he was in danger, and didn't particularly want to find out.

Hinata returned shortly, fully dressed with her sword strapped to her back and kunai hidden in various places on her person. Elrond led them down the hall to the main dining room. Hinata attempted to hide behind Neji, but he wouldn't let her, instead slipping behind her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"You are the future head of the Hyuuga clan. Act like it," He murmured. The girl obeyed, straightening her shoulders and lifting her head. Neji removed his arm. Elrond glanced back at the pair, noting the sudden strength in Hinata's gaze and the pride in Neji's. Whatever he had said to Hinata obviously had an effect on her. As they walked, Hinata took the time to explain everything she could to Neji, who absorbed it effortlessly, filing the information away for future use.

"Interesting," Neji glanced out the nearest window, pausing for a moment.

"Nii-san?" Hinata asked. She rested a hand on her cousin's arm. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Hinata-sama," He said, looking slightly wistfully at an enormous tree within jumping reach. His expression wouldn't have been noticeable if one didn't know Neji very well. Elrond stopped walking to watch the cousins. Neji leaned out the window slightly, watching something. Hinata leaned out too. A large bird of prey of some sort, probably a hawk, was circling overhead, screeching every so often.

"We can go look at the garden later," Hinata offered. Neji nodded and moved away from the window.

Elrond started walking again, slowly, in case they were still distracted, but the pair followed obediently enough. He didn't think that they would cause much trouble, praise the Valar. Not like his own twins, Elladan and Elohir. These two were quiet, at the very least. Two sudden flashes of color appeared. Speak of the devils…

"_Hello, ada," _Elladan said.

"_What did you do?_" Elrond asked suspiciously.

"_Nothing yet,_" Elohir answered. "_We did have plans, but we decided to put them off temporarily. At least until the dwarves are settled in,_"

"_Do anything to disrupt the council…_" Elrond left the threat open, fixing his sons with a glare.

"_How could you ever suspect such a thing of us?_" Elladan asked, mock sorrow lacing his tone. He turned to Hinata. "_Remember us?_" He asked. She blinked at him. "_I'm taking that as a no,_"

"_She is learning to speak Common, idiot,_" Elohir butted it. "_Probably couldn't figure out what you said,_"

"_Oh, right. Sorry, Hinata,_" Elladan said, sounding sheepish. Hinata and Neji both blinked at him this time, completely and utterly lost.

"…_Repeat?_" Hinata asked. Neji just glared, hostility radiating from every inch of him.

"_Um…never mind._" Elohir said. The cousins blinked at him again.

"Who are they?_" _Neji asked Hinata.

"They brought us here after I couldn't go any further," Hinata said, looking slightly ashamed. Neji simply nodded, but his hand didn't stray from the kunai pouch on his right leg. Hinata was very good at judging people, but that didn't mean that Neji didn't have his own reservations about trusting people. Especially if he couldn't understand what they were saying.

"_Shall we go?_" Elrond asked, slowly enough for Hinata to interpret what he was saying.

"_Yes, please,_" The girl said. She fairly radiated joy at being able to understand what someone had said to her. At her side, Neji's gaze never left the twins. He felt that Elrond was someone to trust, but the twins…they gave off Naruto-like vibes, and Naruto-like people could not be trusted around Hinata. Ever. Under any circumstances.

Elrond eventually managed to herd his twins, Hinata, and Neji to the dining hall after an unfortunate instance in which Elladan strayed too close to Hinata and promptly ended up five feet away, slightly stunned, and attempting to avoid Neji's death glare. Elohir and Elrond kept a respectful distance from Hinata the rest of the way. Neji had proved his strength and over-protectiveness. Hinata was obviously embarrassed by her cousin, but she managed to keep going with nothing more than a light blush. She only lifted her head when they reached the dining hall. Melimion was walking through and saw her.

"_Hinata,_" He called. She waved. Neji eyed Melimion carefully for a few moments, but determined that the elf wasn't a threat, or, at least, not an obvious one.

"Who is he?" Neji asked Hinata.

"He's nice. He helped me yesterday in the kitchens. His name is Melimion," When Melimion approached, Hinata fairly beamed, and immediately started a conversation with him. Neji kept an eye on him, but soon turned his attention to the rest of the massive hall. If he could make Hinata so obviously happy, he wouldn't interfere. Besides, it would be good for his cousin to have a friend to speak to in the area, especially if it meant she could practice speaking.

The twins wandered off, distracted by someone else. Elrond, though, stayed near Neji and Hinata. He couldn't leave them alone to fend for themselves here. Especially not with all of the different races and people that were currently visiting that hadn't met either one of the cousins yet. Speaking of visitors…Boromir entered the room from another entrance, and somehow managed to catch Hinata's eye. She immediately blanched. Melimion noticed her reaction and turned. When he caught the man's eye, his kind expression turned to one of dislike. Neji moved forward to his cousin's side, bristling. Why was Hinata so nervous around this man? What had he done to her?

"Who is he?" Neji asked Hinata.

"I don't know his name. But…he…" She shook her head. Neji glared at Boromir. Whatever had happened, he knew for a fact that Hinata would never start it. Boromir caught Neji's glare, and attempted to return it, but failed and quickly averted his gaze. Neji allowed himself a smirk of satisfaction at that. Even in a completely new place, he could still make people back down. If he could still do that, than the world still functioned normally. It was turning out to be a good morning. He returned his attention to Hinata and Melimion. Hinata discretely handed him a scroll, disguising the motion as smoothing her clothes. Neji, in turn, cautiously opened it a little, and found lists of words. Interesting. Something twined around his ankles suddenly, and he looked down, resisting the urge to hurl a kunai at it. It was a little grey and white kitten that looked up at him and mewed. Hinata apparently noticed it too, since she suddenly crouched and scooped it into her arms. It immediately started to purr.

"_What is he?_" Hinata asked Melimion.

"_A kitten. A baby cat. His name is Beinion._" Hinata nodded, cuddling the little creature like a baby.

"_Cute._" Hinata said. The kitten turned its large adorable eyes on her, but Neji swore that the thing was giving him the evil eye the next instant. Melimion apparently noticed as well because he snickered the same way that Tenten or Lee might have. Neji glared at him the same way too. The elf continued to snicker, covering his smile with one hand. Hinata was obviously oblivious, as she continued to cuddle the creature. Neji glared at it. Maybe this morning wasn't as good as he thought. The kitten cuddled closer to Hinata, still giving Neji the evil eye. Neji reacted to Melimion's continued snickering the same way he would Tenten's or Lee's. Namely, a heel on his toe. The elf did the exact same thing too. A muffled yelp and a glare.

Hinata looked curiously from Neji to Melimion, but when neither responded, refocused her attention on Beinion. Elrond watched the interaction with some amusement, barely managing to keep his composure like a proper Elf Lord. A bunch of dwarves walked by, eyeing him cautiously, but they were distracted by the sight of food.

After breakfast, and after Hinata introduced Neji to Erestor, they returned to her room so Hinata could change into training clothes. Beinion stayed in the hallway with Neji, purring and rubbing against his ankles. He glared at the kitten. Evil creature. Hinata opened the door to her room and slipped back out, now wearing her normal outfit, including the jacket.

"Ready?" Neji asked.

"Yes," Hinata led Neji down the hall until they found the large window that Neji had paused at earlier. They hopped onto the large branch just outside it and leapt from the branch to the ground. Hinata couldn't help but giggle when she saw that Neji had been covered in white petals from the tree, similar to the way Gandalf had been covered in them when he had shown her around. Neji scowled and pulled them out of his hair. Hinata helped him, carefully pulling the more tangled petals loose.

Hinata led Neji through the gardens, searching for a reasonably clear and secluded area to spar. There were several elves in the gardens, but none of them approached the cousins. The sound of metal on metal drew Hinata and Neji around a building, where they found Elladan and Elohir sparring. A number of other warriors were nearby, either fighting with swords or bows and arrows.

"_Hinata,_" The twins stopped fighting and turned to greet them. Elladan was the one who had spoken.

"_Hello,_" Hinata said shyly. Neji gave a short nod, eyes flicking around the area.

"_Want to spar?_" Elohir asked. He received two blank stares in return. "_Fight?_" He offered. Neji slipped the scroll into Hinata's hand. She unrolled it, searching for the words that Elohir had used. Neji stood at Hinata's side. His gaze never strayed from the elves in front of him.

"I found it," Hinata said. Neji's eyes flicked to the scroll only long enough to read the word that Hinata was pointing at before he returned to watching Elladan and Elohir. "They want us to spar with them,"

"I will," Hinata stepped back as Neji stepped forward, drawing his sword out of the sheath on his back. Elladan and Elohir exchanged looks before Elladan stepped back. Elohir drew his own blade, and he and Neji began to circle each other warily. The other warriors stopped their own training to watch the stranger face off with one of Elrond's sons.

Neji made the first move. He darted in, low and fast, with a swipe at Elohir's abdomen that was blocked. Elohir's responding blow was easily dodged. Neji decided to practice his taijutsu and easily sheathed his sword. Elohir stared at him in disbelief for a moment, but was forced to duck when Neji launched himself at him.

"_Hinata, what is Neji doing?_" Elladan asked.

"Taijutsu," Hinata replied without thinking. Neji managed to kick Elohir in the back of the knees, knocking the elf to the ground. Before Elohir could make another move, Neji's foot was pressing lightly on his throat and one hand was directly over his heart. It was glowing blue.

"_I yield,_" Elohir said. Neji didn't understand the specific words, but the tone was clear enough. Surrender. He moved off of Elohir, offering him a hand. The elf took it, allowing Neji to pull him to his feet. "_What was that? Your hand was glowing?_" Neji glanced over at Hinata, who was struggling to put the words together in a coherent sentence, especially with the crowd of other elves that had witnessed the fight.

"_Special…fighting…way?_" She offered tentatively. "_I use too._"

"_What does it do?_" Elladan asked. Neji and Hinata exchanged looks. How did one demonstrate a killing technique when you couldn't kill the person asking? Neji suddenly saw a mouse scurrying by out of the corner of his eye. He snatched it up with one hand. The elves blinked at him, amazed at the sheer speed of his movements. Before any of them could speak, Neji had given the poor creature a quick burst of chakra, killing it instantly. Blood dripped from its mouth and nose.

"_What did you do?_" Elohir asked, eyes wide and getting wider. Neji whipped out a kunai, carefully slicing the mouse's abdomen open to show what he had done. Its lungs and heart had burst. Hinata cringed at the sight, knowing that if Neji had his way in that fight so long ago, her insides would look like that too. The elves stared openly, horror and awe mingling in their eyes.

"_Can you do that?_" Elladan asked Hinata. She hesitantly nodded, squeaking when an arm was thrown around her shoulders. "_The orcs had better watch our for you two, then!_"

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A/N: Usual drill, read and review. Please?


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